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At factory farms, female animals are ruthlessly exploited for financial gain. If you are passionate about women’s rights, it’s crucial to recognize the injustices female animals in our food system face. Hidden from public view, they endure unimaginable suffering. These mothers and daughters deserve our attention and support to amplify their voices and share their stories. Together, we can champion the rights of all.
Here’s a closer look at how the industry exploits the bodies of female animals for profit.
Female Shrimp Eyestalk Cutting
Shrimp are the world’s most-farmed animals, and each year billions of them suffer horrific practices. The industry claims that cutting the eyestalks of female shrimp used for breeding makes them mature faster and release more eggs.
Despite research showing that this negatively impacts their growth, lowers egg quality, and even raises mortality rates, this cruel practice is standard for hundreds of millions of mother shrimp in the global shrimp-farming industry. It can also cause stress and weight loss and may even make their offspring more vulnerable to disease.
Mother Pigs in Extreme Confinement
For most of their short lives, mother pigs in factory farms are subjected to egregious abuse. Pregnant pigs are often confined to gestation crates, small cages that restrict their movement and prevent them from engaging in vital natural behaviors. These crates are so narrow that the animals can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably. Pregnant pigs are moved to farrowing crates before giving birth. Like gestation crates, farrowing crates are so small that mother pigs are unable to turn around and can barely take a step.
Mother pigs have no choice but to relieve themselves where they stand and are unable to walk away from the smell of their own feces. Some animals have been known to gnaw at the bars of their enclosures in stress and frustration. And according to the United States Department of Agriculture, these crates have also been associated with reduced heart function and weakened bones in pigs.
The Disturbing Reality for Cows
Many people don’t realize that, like humans and other mammals, cows must become pregnant to produce milk. To maximize milk production, the dairy industry forces mother cows to bear one calf a year. This means cows at dairy farms spend most of their lives either pregnant or having just delivered a baby. Most dairy farmers separate calves from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. This agonizes both mother and calf, and mother cows are known to pace desperately and bellow for their stolen babies.
The nightmare does not end there! Cows used for dairy are selectively bred to produce abnormally large quantities of milk. This unnatural production, combined with physical damage from milking equipment, causes emotional and physical pain. Additionally, the USDA allows a certain amount of blood in milk, which can result from mastitis or injury to the animals’ udders. Bright red milk typically means a large blood vessel has burst from trauma, while dark brown milk usually indicates mastitis. Both represent pain and suffering for cows, who endure a constant cycle of pregnancy, birth, and milking until their bodies are too worn out to produce a profitable amount of milk, and the animals are sent to slaughter.
Chickens Forced to Lay Eggs
While the conditions at egg farms are appalling, the egg industry begins abusing chickens from the moment they hatch. Shortly after they come into the world, chicks are separated by gender. Females are relegated to the same tragic fate as their mothers—crammed into cages and forced to lay egg after egg until their bodies are “spent.”
Hens used for eggs are typically bred to lay as many eggs as possible. This has devastating effects on their bodies, including causing their bones to become brittle from calcium depletion. A Mercy For Animals investigation documented birds with so little calcium left in their bodies that they laid eggs without shells.
Female Ducks Left to Suffocate
At farms raising ducks for foie gras, female ducklings are often left to suffocate. Hundreds of thousands of ducklings hatch every year. After hatching, the ducklings are sorted by sex, as only male ducks are raised and force-fed to produce foie gras. Female ducklings are crammed together into giant containers where they slowly starve to death or suffocate.
Take Action
Female animals trapped in our food system endure lives of agony, unseen and unheard. We can help change this by choosing plant-based foods, sharing blog posts and investigations that expose the cruel treatment of farmed animals, and signing petitions. With your compassion and support, we can make a difference.