Horrific Cruelty Towards Babies: The Unwanted Male Dairy Calves

“This is an update on a post I did several months ago; however this contains more information. So please read the information at the links, sign the petitions & watch a new video recorded February 2013 by Animals Australia!!”

“Don’t you find it appalling that we force animals into pregnancy, then steal their babies & if that wasn’t bad enough, we then steal their babies milk! FFS people…please…I know I’ve written a lot; but only because I feel so strongly on the this subject. These animals have very little rights, or protection from harm…yes there are rules in place…but there all just about broken; as we have seen so many times before on undercover videos. Ok, these are just animals to some, but that doesn’t, nor shouldn’t put them beneath us, nor give us the right to treat them in such appalling ways, should it??

These young, vulnerable animals suffered not only because of illegal cruelty — but, crucially, because they were not wanted by the commercial dairy industry. Hundreds of thousands of Australian bobby calves are slaughtered each year as ‘waste products‘ of the dairy industry. The terrible treatment at this abattoir is not the first, nor will it be the last time that calves will be thrown, dragged and abused.

Their inability as babies to comprehend what is required of them, whether during loading for transport or up the races of slaughterhouses, requires them to be treated with compassion and patience — two human traits rarely witnessed when it comes to dealing with unwanted and ‘worthless’ animals.

Hidden Cameras – The Unwanted Dairy calf Investigation – Does not show slaughter!

(What you probably knew, but didn’t want to see; is a better title)

Published on 1 Feb 2013

Using hidden cameras, this investigation into the fate of unwanted dairy calves (bobby calves) in Australia reveals what the dairy industry doesn’t want you to see. LIKE & SHARE this video to help expose this. For tips on going dairy-free visit http://AnimalsAustralia.org/dairy-inv…

Young calves pushed, shocked with electric prods, hit and dragged up a metal ramp to be slaughtered… Some, too weak to stand, are thrown into the slaughter chute.

This shocking footage, provided to Animals Australia, was taken at an abattoir in Northern Victoria.

Upon receiving the footage, Animals Australia lodged a formal complaint with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) for breaches of Victorian animal cruelty laws and the illegal use of an electric prod on a calf. A formal complaint was also lodged with PrimeSafe for breaches of the Australian Standards governing welfare at abattoirs; PrimeSafe ordered the practices cease immediately. Investigations have now concluded — incredibly, no charges have been laid.

Instead, the abattoir owners and several workers were issued with formal warnings by DPI. “Formal warnings for beating, shocking & brutally abusing babies…does that seem right or fair? Those heartless bastards should have been EXPOSED to all & at the very least; then BEEN FINED & DISMISSED!”

This exposure of abattoir cruelty, the latest in a string over the past 15 months, further demonstrates the urgent need for constant monitoring by Government veterinary officers and CCTV in all abattoirs.

“OK…this is my rant! Don’t we kill enough animals? slaughtered in appalling ways, just to satisfy the human hunger for all things meat?? Please…these are babies, yet they are thrown around, stunned, hit, poked, prodded etc. from the day they are born. This is 2013; we don’t need to be eating baby calves to maintain a healthy diet, any more than we need to be stealing their milk…it’s all just a preference!”

 “For the cow’s, nature normally decides the sex of an animal, but there is such a thing as specific “sexed semen” in the farming industry. It’s mainly only used on heifers for their first born, after that, it isn’t so predictable. So “sexed semen” isn’t widely used. A dairy cow is impregnated every year, so she continues to produce a steady supply of milk for humans to drink.This is usually done through artificial insemination which will give a 50/50 chance as to the sex of the calf. Most cows in the regular dairy industry are also given growth hormones, causing their udders to become unnaturally big and heavy, resulting in frequent infections. The Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) also increases birth defects in calves.

Female cows have the same gestation period as women, 9 months! When the calf is born, it is normal dairy practice to remove the calf. Generally, the female calves are reared to join the milking herd but for male calves, it’s a very different story! The average modern dairy cow will produce about 100 pounds of milk per day, which is 10 times more than it would naturally produce. Normally cows can live an average of 25 years. Dairy cows are slaughtered and made into ground beef after about 3-4 years.

For the poor males calves born, a small percentage can either be reared for beef, if suitable, or sold for veal. After being removed from their mothers, veal calves are loaded onto trucks and often sold at auctions. These small and fragile calves are often treated very roughly. If they are unable to walk, they will be dragged by their legs or ears (as seen in the video)

 For the places that still use veal crates, the calves are confined in crates measuring about two feet wide. To make their meat more “tender”, their movements are restrained by chains around their necks. To give a white colour to their meat, the calves are fed an all-liquid milk-substitute, purposely deficient in iron and fibre  After about 16 weeks, these poor calves are slaughtered and their meat is sold labelled as “white” veal. They don’t even get to taste their mothers milk, let alone be with their mothers!”

 “Bob” veal comes from calves who are slaughtered when they are only a few hours or days old! SORRY….that just isn’t right…in fact, it makes us no better than our earlier neanderthal man, who would eat any meat, just to stay alive! WTF are we doing, eating baby calves…isn’t the meat from a cow good enough???

There is no getting away from the fact that humans developed this heinous life for young calves, purely so that their meat would taste nice to a certain clientele ! How f-ing wrong is that??? Doing so makes us no better than the people in Asia that eat puppies, dogs or cats! How many of you have signed numerous petitions to put an end to the cruel torture & eating of puppies, dogs or cats?? Some regions of china, beat the animal before it is slaughtered, because those eating it believe it makes the meat taste better.! Well what the hell are we doing??? putting babies into small crates to restrict their growth; so their meat tastes nicer!!! We are no f-ing better then them, we cause baby calves pain by putting them into crates with chains around their necks, not letting them move, feeding them poor diets etc. TELL ME…WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???”

“Sadly, I’m more than aware, that where no other viable options exist, some farmers have no choice but to cull their bull calves, i.e. shoot them shortly after birth!! Perhaps this is the better end, than being dragged from their mothers, forced into trailers, degraded at sale rings…starved in veal crates, then violently tossed onto a slaughter belt & probably concious whilst their throats are cut!

“Female cows are in the dairy business for one reason only, for humans to steal their milk! Milk they produce because they are continually kept pregnant, because being pregnant means their body gets ready to produce milk for their babies, just like women; which is why female cow’s have their babies then are made pregnant again!  Artificial insemination especially in intensive dairy farming, cows are genetically engineered and fed growth hormones to force them to produce more milk.”

All female animals produce milk just like humans do, for their babies…unless your born a male calf…males don’t don’t get to have their mothers milk or be nurtured & feel safe; because they were sadly born MALE & not wanted by the commercial dairy industry.“

 “YOU CAN HELP BY SIMPLY NOT EATING VEAL or drinking their milk…Wouldn’t you feel a lot happier knowing you were not contributing to this?? I don’t eat any meat & only have Soya as my dairy substitute; even if I wasn’t vegetarian I still couldn’t stomach the thought of eating any baby animal;especially after seeing how they are treated!

“The link below also offers other ways to help this appalling cruelty”

Link:–http://animalsaustralia.org/investigations/dairy-calf-cruelty-investigation/

“These babies, including, pigs, cows, chickens, lambs, foals & often other animals around the world, are seen in the farming industry as cattle, livestock or property…therefore allowed to be killed & abused dreadfully, as is being seen! Why are we letting this happen??

What You Never Knew About Dairy

Uploaded on 24 Jan 2011

The treatment of bobby calves has been a long-held secret of the dairy industry. For the sake of milk products, the Australian dairy industry discards some 700,000 unwanted week-old calves as ‘waste products’ every year. You can help these vulnerable animals at http://www.animalsaustralia.org

Pledge to go Dairy Free:– http://animalsaustralia.org/take_action/pledge/dairy-free-pledge/

Demand animals not be treated as ‘waste products‘:-http://animalsaustralia.org/take_action/bobby-calf-cruelty/

Go deliciously dairy-free!:-http://animalsaustralia.org/features/dairy-free-shopping-list.php

“Of course there are those that don’t want the public to see how animals are treated or slaughtered on farms etc. So they are trying to introduce Ag-Gag bills…WHY?? If a farm has nothing to hide; why be so paranoid? We need these people to go into places the public are not allowed, so they can document all stages of cattle processing etc. Personally I think all places were animals are reared or slaughtered should have CCTV made available to 3rd parties at any time. For workers who, for want of a better word “enjoy causing & inflicting pain on another living being” farms & slaughter houses are perfect for them to carry on their diabolical & heinous rituals of hurting animals! Without undercover films or CCTV…how the hell are we going to know how the animals are kept & handled??”

Dangerous bills in five states would criminalize whistle-blowing on factory farms, chilling the ability of the American public to confront animal cruelty, unsafe working conditions, and environmental problems. See if your state has such a bill pending. Then learn more about these troublesome pieces of legislation in the link below.

In 2013, these states have introduced anti-whistle-blower bills:

• New Hampshire (HB 110)—pending: Live in N.H.? Take action now!
• Wyoming (HB 0126)—passed House; pending in Senate
• Indiana (SB 373/SB 391)—pending
• Nebraska (LB 204)—pending
• Arkansas (SB 13/SB 14)—bill pulled by sponsor

Link:–http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campaigns/factory_farming/fact-sheets/ag_gag.html

If You Have To Eat Veal – Please Buy British veal

By rearing these calves for British veal, we believe they are given a life worth living. The calves are reared in groups and must be provided with bedding which gives them a comfortable floor surface. Young calves are supplied double the amount of fibrous food compared with EU requirements, and older calves have greater space allowance than stipulated in EU law.

And, last but not least, these calves have not endured long distance transport to reach the rearing units.

And finally, if it doesn’t specify on the menu that the veal is British, assume that it isn’t  Retailers, restaurants, butchers and deli’s should be proud to offer this higher welfare alternative.

Read how you can help & watch the video by Compassion In World Farming:- http://www.ciwf.org.uk/what_we_do/calves/uncovered_veal_confusion.aspx

HOW CAN I HELP?

You can help to improve the welfare of calves in a number of ways: please visit:- http://www.ciwf.org.uk/what_we_do/calves/take_action/default.aspx

“Go milk free, many people now use almond, soy, rice, coconut or hemp milk. I use Soya milk & to me it taste like creamy milk; delicious!”

Maternal Deprivation – A HSUS guide to the welfare of veal animals

The routine early separation of cows and their calves in the dairy and veal industries is distressing for both. 

Hudson and Mullord found “that 5-min contact with a calf immediately post partum is sufficient for the formation of a strong, specific maternal bond with that calf.”

 Calves separated from their dams at birth, as observed by Lidfors, were less active and vocalized and licked themselves more than calves remaining with their mothers. Marchant-Forde et al. reported that calves separated from their dams 24 hours after birth recognized and responded to recordings of their dams’ calls 24 hours after separation, with the cows’ vocalizations eliciting cardiac and behavioural responses in their calves. 

In its 1995 Report on the Welfare of Calves, the SVC concluded: “The best conditions for rearing young calves involve leaving the calf with the mother in a circumstance where the calf can suckle and can subsequently graze and interact with other calves.” Newborn calves have no antibodies against infections and are entirely dependent on immunoglobulin in mother’s milk for immunological protection.

Colostrum, the milk dams produce during the first few days after calving, is especially high in immunoglobulin. Adequate intake of colostrum is critical for the future health of the calf, as those with low concentrations of absorbed immunoglobulin are more susceptible to diarrhoea.

The routine practice of removing newborn calves from their dams within a few hours of birth may jeopardize this important transfer of immunoglobulin.  Although colostrum is collected from recently calved cows, in top dairy-producing states such as California, it is often sold to facilities specializing in raising female calves for the dairy industry,as their long-term health is considered to be of greater value than that of male calves reared for veal.

Surveys of U.S. veal farms confirm that many calves do not receive adequate colostrum.

Link:-http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/farm/hsus-the-welfare-of-animals-in-the-veal-industry.pdf

What about veal crates?

“Confining calves to crates prevents them from performing all of their natural social and psychological behaviours, purposely prevents healthy growth and development. At the end of their short lives, many calves are not able to walk properly to slaughter, due to the under-development of their leg muscles.

“Humans do this on purpose so that their meat tastes better…FFS….this makes us no better than the people in parts of China, that beat dogs to death; under the impression it makes their meat taste better!! Well, we might not intentionally beat the animal to “make it taste better” but we keep it confined in crate so it doesn’t grown normally!! Not that much difference is there??”

“Crated calves are fed a poor substitute as opposed to their mothers milk; which actually causes them to become anaemic, which creates the very pale meat; the seller wants & the buyers need…it disgusting!”

While some animal advocates work to ban the use of veal crates, the slaughter of any animal for food is antithetical to animal rights, regardless of how much room the animals have when they are alive.

Read more at the link below:-

Link:–http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsusedforfood/g/What-Is-A-Veal-Crate.htm

Veal crates have been banned in the UK since 1990, however veal is still produced in the UK under certain requirements, for example, calves must be able to turn around, they must be fed a diet containing some iron and they may not be kept in individual stalls or pens after the age of eight weeks. As of 2006, similar requirements will be law in the European Union; at present they are only applicable for holdings that have been newly built or rebuilt as of January of 1998.

Here’s a quick look at some of the HSUS’s work to free calves from crates.

State Laws

The HSUS has helped pass laws to ban veal crates in several states, including Arizona,California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, and Ohio.

Investigations

Our undercover investigation of a “bob veal” slaughter plant shined a bright light onto the abuses that male dairy calves can endure.

Corporations

After working with The HSUS, retailers such as Wolfgang Puck no longer serve veal from calves confined in crates. Strauss Veal, the largest U.S. veal producer, and Marcho Farms, have both converted their veal operations to crate-free housing.

Individuals

The HSUS offers materials that make it easier for consumers to avoid supporting veal crates—and that’s one of the ways you can help! Some include our guide to meat and dairy labels, our list of dairy-free and delicious products, and dozens of delicious, humane recipes.

Link:–http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/veal.html

A brief guide to labels and animal welfare

The Humane Society of the United States

An abundance of labels on meat and dairy products make such claims as “grass fed,” “cage free” and “natural.” What exactly do these labels mean, especially in terms of animal welfare?

Some of the claims represent better conditions for animals than those suffered by the billions who are raised on standard factory farms, while others don’t relate to the animals’ welfare at all. So, how meaningful are these labels?

The following are the most common labels, decoded:-take a look so you know what your buying:- http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/meat_dairy_labels.html

More information & petitions to sign:-

• http://forcechange.com/10605/stop-the-torture-of-veal-calves/
  
• http://forcechange.com/28381/ban-confinement-of-cows-and-pigs-in-massachusetts/

“Why can’t they all be like the farmer below,who genuinely loves & cares for his cows even after their milking days are over!!”

“Eastleigh Farm says goodbye to Framingham herd matriarch”

FRAMINGHAM —

As dairy owner Doug Stephan’s first milk cow, Peaches was Eastleigh Farm’s grande dame. With a beautifully coiffed top-knot crown and way of communicating with farmhands, the brown Jersey girl commanded respect.

“She’s always been extraordinarily regal,” farm worker Georgette Jowdy said.

As the 22-year-old bovine laid her tired legs on a bed of hay Friday morning, her large brown eyes showed that she seemed to know her reign as matriarch was over.

Stephan planned to put Peaches down Friday afternoon, 10 years after retiring her to his home pasture on Grove Street, around the corner from Eastleigh on Edmands Road.

Stephan choked back tears as he sat beside his beloved cow in the barn beside his house, talking about her seemingly psychic abilities, the seven calves she delivered and how she got her name from the vocalist duo Peaches & Herb.

He planned to bury Peaches near his late father’s ashes in the yard, and near a plaque for farm manager Edgar Pless, who died last summer.

“It’s a tough day,” said Jowdy, Pless’ wife, who raises the farm’s calves and had a close bond with Peaches after working there for 14 years. “It’s especially tough for Doug.”

As Peaches put her head on his lap, Stephan recalled bringing the cow and her cousin, Cream, to live at Eastleigh when they were four- or five-day-old heifers.

Cream later died, and the “extraordinarily sharp” Peaches went on to rule the herd. “She was always the boss cow,” Stephan said. “She would show up, get unloaded off the trailer and everyone would clear the way. She was in charge,” Jowdy said.

“She has an aura about her,” Stephan said. “I mean there’s a little crown.” Eastleigh retires its cows instead of slaughtering them after their milking years. It lets them graze in the home pasture, or gives them away to be “lawnmowers,” Jowdy said.

“They give their whole life to give us food,” she said. Strong-willed Peaches lived a long life for a cow and couldn’t stand up at the end, Jowdy said. “They get arthritis, like we do,” she said. “They get bone loss, they get muscle loss.” Peaches, she said, “gave milk for a long, long time and babies – a lot of babies.”

A lineage chart in the barn shows that Peaches delivered Patches, Elsie, Beth, Herbie, Plum, Samantha and Beulah. Apricot, Emma and Elke joined the family tree as future generations. They are among the hundreds of cows that Stephan raises.

Resting in her stall before the veterinarian arrived, Peaches enjoyed lots of snacks in addition to her grain: whole wheat bread, croissant and, a special treat, doughnuts.

“We’re indulging her a lot,” Jowdy said. Jowdy said she was comforted by the fact that Peaches would be joining her late husband. “I like to believe because it’s comforting that he’s there waiting for her,” she said.

“Why can’t all farmers have the compassion & love for their animals as the above man does?  I really take my hat off to this farmer for his loyalty & love of his animals. He appreciates that they give their milk & their babies; in return they get to be cow’s, retired & munching on grass!”

News Link: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1522319540/Eastleigh-Farm-says-goodbye-to-Framingham-herd-matriarch#ixzz2KnHdqXsL

Video of Jowdy saying goodbye to peaches.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/multimedia/video/x898127804/VIDEO-Saying-goodbye-to-Peaches

The ‘cruel’ goat farm where activists claim animals have the tips of their horns burned off with a metal tool to save money as demand for milk and cheese grows

With a healthy, organic image, cheese and milk from British goat farms have become popular items on our shopping lists.

Now scenes we might imagine of free-range herds grazing on lush fields have been rocked by claims of animal cruelty.

Undercover filming at two of the largest goat farms by animal campaigners Viva, shows images of kid goats having the tips or buds of their horns burned off with a metal tool. The painful procedure stops horns growing, so avoiding injury during clashes in adulthood.

But animal welfare rules state this should be done by vets under anaesthetic.

One of the farms, Upper Enson Farm at Sandon, Staffordshire, which has around 2,000 goats, does not take these safeguards. The farmer said he did not have the cash to use vets because the goat industry was ‘on its knees’.

The farm supplies a dairy which sells products in major supermarkets including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Co-op.

Footage from the farm also showed the carcasses of dead nanny and kid goats. The farmer later admitted the farm had suffered an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, which can kill younger goats.

Viva warns that cramped conditions can encourage diseases to spread.

Filming at another business, Bromes Farm, near Taunton in Somerset, which supplies Tesco among other retailers, revealed some conditions in which the animals are not free to go out into the fields.

Ranks of goats were also shown connected to milking machines at the farm. Viva condemns industrial-style milking parlours, which can cause the goats to suffer from sore udders because of the high quantities of milk produced.

Bromes Farm did not respond to requests for comment.

Viva said the raising of goats increasingly involved factory farming techniques. Director Juliet Gellatley said: ‘Ethically minded consumers who have been shocked by increasingly intensive methods of production in the dairy cow industry have been switching to goats’ milk under the mistaken belief that it is more humane.’

Nick Brandon, owner of Upper Enson Farm, admitted he was operating outside the rules on removing or disbudding horns. He said: ‘The disbudding is not quite as it should be and we are consulting with our vet to decide how to move forward.’

Asked why he has not used a vet, he said: ‘It is not economical for the number of goats we have got.

‘The industry is on its knees. Goats’ milk and cheese is becoming more popular, but the price people pay in the shops is not filtering back to farmers.’

He added: ‘Our milking goats and older youngstock graze outside for eight to nine months of the year and have access to their shed in rain.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160065/The-cruel-goat-farms-Activists-claim-animals-mistreated-demand-milk-cheese-grows.html#ixzz1xyG206QG

 

Published on 15 Jun 2012 by vivaorg

Think today’s dairy goat farming is benign and mostly small-scale? Think again. Watch our film to find out more.

Through a series of ground-breaking undercover investigations Viva! has shone a light on the rapidly expanding goat’s dairy industry in the UK — including farms that supply the UK’s biggest supermarkets.

Behind the pastoral image often portrayed our exposé has found potentially illegal and other routine mutilation of baby animals, disease outbreaks, piles of dead carcasses, intensified zero-grazing farming practices and Billy goats increasingly sold for the ethnic food market. It is this intensification that has allowed the industry to surpass the production of 2 million litres a year in Britain for the first time.

In May 2012, we filmed undercover at Upper Enson Farm (Britain’s largest grazing goat herd) in Staffordshire, who milk around 1,800 goats for Delamere Dairies — who supply M&S, Waitrose, The Co-op, Sainsbury’s and a number of other major UK retailers. In September/October 2011, we also filmed at Bromes Farm in Somerset, which farms around 1,200 zero-grazed goats and supplies Tesco.

For more information and free advice on how to go dairy-free, visithttp://www.milkmyths.org.uk/goats

Male dairy calves are killed, but why the surprise? People have no right to complain if they don’t inform themselves about food

By CLIVE ASLET

I am baffled by the response to the Channel 4 documentary showing the fate of male dairy calves. Why the shock?

What did people think did happen to them? Most of the audience will drink milk. How did they think it was produced?

I agree with one thing: it’s a terrible shame that this massacre of the innocents should take place. In a thrifty society, it wouldn’t.

If you farm animals to eat, you owe it to them – and to your conscience – not to waste the meat they furnish. In my view that includes throwing away food from the fridge which has been allowed to pass its sell-by date: if you buy meat, the least you an do is to make sure you consume it.

We should also make better use of male calves. As I write this, on a train to Kent, I am sipping a cappuccino.

At the outlet in the railway station, I watched the barista carry half a dozen huge plastic containers of milk to the fridge. Milk has become an industrial product.

It bears little relationship to the creamy liquid that froths out of the cow. It’s sold in petrol station and other places that have no obvious connection with food. It’s ubiquitous.

Produce: A female farmer milks a cow. Unfortunately there’s no market for their bobby calves

The retail system has driven down the price to a level where thousands of dairy farmers have had to pack up over recent years. The family farm, as it exists in many people’s imagination, is now a thing of the past. 

Put all these factors together, and it’s hardly surprising that harsh economics and ruthless efficiency have risen above sentiment.

I didn’t see the documentary in question but I bet the farmers on it cared deeply about the welfare of their herds. In a sense, that’s the surprise.

Farmers, despite all the financial pressures that they’re now under, still want to do their best for their animals. They’re as sorry as anyone that there’s no market for their bobby calves. 

In part, this was destroyed by the animal rights brigade. Traditionally, Britain’s male calves were exported to the Continent. Some years ago, campaigners blockaded the ports and put a stop to it.

I wasn’t wholly sorry that they should have done so. The calves often had to travel long distances in dreadful conditions, and were then bred for veal. In order that a wiener schnitzel or Blanquette de veau is the correct order of whiteness, the veal calves are kept in darkness, and fed on milk.

As a consequence, white veal is one of the few things I won’t eat. Where the campaigners were wrong was in failing to establish an alternative destination for the British calves.

Without one, a bolt from a humane killer was the only alternative. Some retailers attempted to establish a taste for pink veal in Britain – veal from young animals which have been allowed to see the outdoors – but it didn’t really take off.

We live in a largely urban society, and unfortunately most town dwellers are too lazy to find out about animals, even when they say they care about them.

Life for many dairy farmers has been made all but impossible by the badger explosion.

We all want to have badgers in the countryside, but when was the last time you saw a hedgehog dead by the side of the road? Squashed hedgehogs were something of a sick joke in the 1970s.

Now, I’m told, hedgehogs are eaten by badgers, along with the eggs of skylarks and other ground nesting birds.

Urbanites hardly think about the consequences of badger preservation on other forms of wildlife, much less the impact on dairy farms. In fact, many of us close our eyes to farming practices altogether.

If consumers choose to exist in a state of wilful ignorance about the production of what they eat, they really don’t have the right to complain at what goes on, when they suddenly find out.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2152608/Baby-calves-shot-C4-documentary-People-right-complain-dont-inform-food.html#ixzz1wRylYCEI

BOBBY CALVES – Please – Take Action

TAKE ACTION

 

In order to produce milk, a dairy cow needs to be pregnant or lactating. The majority of male calves and some females are surplus to the farmer’s needs. These ‘bobby calves’ are separated from their mother shortly after birth, hand fed then transported to slaughter at a mere 5 days old – an age at which they are not equipped to withstand the rigors of transport.

Because they will very soon go to slaughter, bobby calves often don’t get the same standard of housing, cleanliness, care or attention as other calves destined for further rearing. And now, a proposed new standard for the time off feed for bobby calves would deny them feed for up to 30 hours on their way to slaughter.

The RSPCA believes 30 hours is far too long for newborn calves to be off feed.

The dairy industry argues that 30 hours off feed is an acceptable way to treat unwanted dairy calves. However, the dairy industry’s own research found that the welfare of bobby calves begins to deteriorate from 24 hours off feed, and that is if conditions are ‘ideal’.

Recently,  Primary Industries Ministers had an opportunity to put in place legal protections for these animals but instead put making a decision back in the ‘too hard basket’.  This inexcusable indecision has left these babies totally exposed. 

Take action and write to your Primary Industries Minister.

.More information:

• About bobby calves
• Bobby Calf Time Off Feed Standard
• More information about transportation of farm animals

TAKE ACTION

Take action and write to your state Primary Industry Minister and also the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Joe Ludwig about bobby calves.

http://www.rspca.org.au/how-you-can-help/campaigns/dairy-cows/bobby-calves/take-action.html

New Link:-http://www.rspca.org.au/how-you-can-help/campaigns/dairy-cows/bobby-calves/

Video from Animals Australia

Many consumers don’t realize that veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry. Newborn bull calves are taken away from their mothers and shipped off to veal producers for a short life of torture. Some bull calves are killed within a few days of their birth, but many are harvested for veal. These veal calves are typically kept immobilized in tiny crates so that their flesh stays tender, until they are slaughtered at 16 to 20 weeks of age. Their confinement is so extreme that they cannot even turn around or lie down comfortably. This abuse begins as young as one day old.

In order to make their flesh white, the veal calves are fed a low iron, nutritionally deficient liquid diet that makes them ill; they frequently develop anemia, diarrhea, and pneumonia.ⁱⁱⁱ According to John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution and several other books^iv :

“Believe me when I say this video is tame in comparison to some, yet I still cry tears for these babies. You have an option, like me, drink Soya milk!”

The treatment of bobby calves has been a long-held secret of the dairy industry. For the sake of milk products, the Australian dairy industry discards some 700,000 unwanted week-old calves as ‘waste products’ every year. You can help these vulnerable animals at http://www.animalsaustralia.org

Rare Kindness: Farmer Saves Cows from Slaughter & Provides Idyllic Life

Traveling with a neighbor to pick up some cows he bought, I ended up with a beef cow of my own. Minnie, a Brangus (a cross between an Angus and a Brahma) was among the 25 other cows my neighbor had bought. The owner asked him if he wanted this one cow who didn’t calve last year. When a cow misses a calving, very often they are “culled” because the farmer can’t take the chance she’ll miss again, costing him too much money.

“No, I really don’t want her,” my neighbor said.

The owner then said that he’d just have to “send her off” himself.

I don’t know why, but I felt sorry for the old girl and piped up “I’ll take her!” and so my neighbor loaded her onto his trailer with his newly aquired cows and off we went back home. I have a small farm with a few milk cows and I just couldn’t imagine what I was going to do with a beef cow, especially one that couldn’t have calves, but I did know I couldn’t stand the thought of her being slaughtered. She had a shiny, jet black coat and big, beautiful eyes, and I soon found out she was very tame and liked to have her tail scratched.

Mini-with-Max-newborn

Since Minnie was a cow that couldn’t have calves, I just let her out with the other cows and my bull figuring I just had a big pet. Nine and one half months later, Maxwell, her new little bull calf, was born. It also turns out she’s a great milker, too. She was very easy to train to be milked, and gives a very rich, white milk. Since then she’s had another calf named Maynard, a daughter named Molly, and just last month had a little boy named Mutt.

Because she was crossed with a dairy bull, her sons make great oxen, with long legs and powerful muscles, who can, therefore, live long and useful lives with someone who can use these big, beautiful animals to help around the place and eat hay when there’s nothing else to do. As for the heifer calf, I’m training Molly to go through the milking stall with the other cows, and now I’m figuring out a way to start a school to train oxen (and their owners).

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/rare-kindness-farmer-saves-cows-from-slaughter-provides-idyllic-life.html#ixzz1pTaoFiE7

11 Reasons to Stop Eating Dairy

Milk and dairy products are not the health foods we’ve been told they are.  Here are 11 reasons to stop consuming them:  

1. Cow’s milk is intended for baby cows.  We’re the only species (other than those we are domesticating) that drinks milk after infancy.  And, we’re definitely the only ones drinking the milk of a different species

2.  Hormones. Not only are the naturally-present hormones in cow’s milk stronger than human hormones, the animals are routinely given steroids and other hormones to plump them up and increase milk production.  These hormones can negatively impact humans’ delicate hormonal balance.

3.  Most cows are fed inappropriate food.  Commercial feed for cows contains all sorts of ingredients that include:  genetically-modified (GM) corn, GM soy, animal products, chicken manure, cottonseed, pesticides, and antibiotics

4.  Dairy products, when metabolized, are acid-forming.  Our bodies are constantly striving for biochemical balance to keep our blood at 7.365 pH.  Eating excessive acid-forming products can cause our bodies to overuse some of its acid-balancing mechanisms, one of which is the bones.  Alkaline calcium is stored in the bones and released to combat excessive acidity in the body.  Over time, bones can become fragile.

5.  Research shows that the countries whose citizens consume the most dairy products have the HIGHEST incidence of osteoporosis.

6.  Most dairy cows live in confined, inhumane conditions, never seeing the pastures of green grass they were intended to eat.

7. Most dairy products are pasteurized to kill potentially-harmful bacteria.  During the pasteurization process, vitamins, proteins, and enzymes are destroyed.  Enzymes assist with the digestion process.  When they are destroyed through pasteurization, milk becomes harder to digest, therefore putting a strain on our bodies’ enzyme systems.

8.  Dairy products are mucous-forming. They can contribute to respiratory disorders.  When I remove dairy and sugar from the diets of my clients, they stop experiencing hay fever and seasonal allergies.

9.  Research links dairy products with arthritis. In one study on rabbits, scientist Richard Panush was able to PRODUCE inflamed joints in the animals by switching their water to milk.  In another study, scientists observed more than a 50% reduction in the pain and swelling of arthritis when participants eliminated milk and dairy products from their diet.

10  Most milk is homogenized, which denatures the milk’s proteins, making it harder to digest.  Many peoples’ bodies react to these proteins as though they are “foreign invaders” causing their immune systems to overreact.  Research also links homogenized milk to heart disease.

11.  Pesticides in cow feed find their way into milk and dairy products that we consume.

Check out my Dairy-Free Soft Cheese recipe for a delicious alternative to dairy cheese

Written by Michelle Schoffro Cook

Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, RNCP, ROHP, DNM, PhD is an international best-selling and twelve-time book author and doctor of traditional natural medicine, whose works include

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-reasons-to-stop-eating-dairy.html#ixzz1n3JGVCde
via 11 Reasons to Stop Eating Dairy | Care2 Healthy Living.

If you thought our cows processing milk was bad, look at this