Cows
Cows are gentle giants, known for their playful curiosity and strong social bonds within their herds. Their affectionate nature and remarkable ability to form deep friendships remind us that they deserve lives rooted in respect, not exploitation. Using cows for their bodies overlooks their individuality and capacity for joy, reducing sentient beings to commodities rather than honoring their inherent worth.
Cows used for Milk
Forced Artificial Insemination
Every cow that produces milk is doing so because they had to be artificially inseminated to become pregnant, and subsequently give birth. This is a very invasive process for the cow, who has no choice in the matter. As soon as their calf is born, they are immediately taken from them so we can steal their milk. Mother cows will often bellow for weeks after having their babies taken from them.
A Grim Life For Babies
Calves are commonly disbudded, the painful process of destroying horn producing cells, typically using a hot iron. Females are sent to live in tiny crates until they grow and are then sent into the same cycle as their mothers. While males are either sent away for veal production, dairy beef production, or are subjected to early culling (bobby calves).
Short lives for mothers
Life for mothers is a constant process of giving birth and becoming pregnant again. For a dairy cow to keep producing milk, they have to be repeatedly impregnated. A dairy cow’s natural lifespan is 15-20 years, but in the dairy industry, most are slaughtered between the ages of 4-7 years old, when milk production begins to decline.
A Life Cut Short
When a dairy cows milk production declines over years of perpetual use, they will be sent to the slaughterhouse for meat production. In 2023, the U.S. slaughtered over 2.7 million dairy cows.
Cows used for Meat
No Life for a Cow
Life for cows used for meat begins with being separated from their mothers at a young age. These calves will go through a variety of painful mutilations like castration, dehorning, and branding. Then after about 6 months to a year, They will be sent to a feed lot where they will be fattened up for another 6 months until they inevitable trip to the slaughterhouse.
Painful Mutilations for Babies
Early lives for calves born into the meat industry go through a series of painful mutilations, usually performed with no pain relief given. Dehorning or disbudding, the process of removing the horn bud, typically using a hot iron. Castration is typically done by banding, cutting off the circulation until the testes fall off. Branding, typically done between two and four months old, burns the skin with a hot iron so ownership is claimed.
Life on a Feed Lot
For around 6 months, cows between the ages of 6-12 months old, will live on large swaths of land called feed lots, where they will be fattened for slaughter. Feed lots are large plots of land, void of grass and natural foliage and cows are packed in by the thousands. They will be fed a mostly grain based diet until they become “market weight” and then will be sent to the slaughterhouse.
All Roads Lead to the Slaughterhouse
Cows used for meat production typically get slaughtered between the age or 18-30 months old. Cows can typically live 15-20+ years when left to grow old. In 2023, approximately 32 million cattle were slaughtered in the United States.
