Why is the Dairy Industry Cruel? 3 Shocking Legal Practices within Farms

The agriculture industry is the study of raising animals, and other living things for food, and other resources. Farms, dairies, hatcheries, and ranches are all included in the agricultural industry. Even though these industries produce meat, raw materials, and a lot more materials for us humans, They may not be treating their farm animals right. These are some cruel but legal practices done in farms.

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1. Infant and Mother Separation That Occur Too Soon

In industrial farms, mothers and their children are split up soon after birth, whether for meat or dairy. Cows solely produce milk for their calves. A cow's newborn is taken from her just 24 hours after birth so the industry can use her milk. This event causes emotional stress and trauma to both the calf and the mother. The calf will be suspended for 2 months while being fed a substitute for its mother’s milk. All the milk produced by the mother will then be sold to us humans. Cows repeat this process until they are unable to produce milk. When mother cows reach the point where they can’t produce milk, they are then slaughtered for their meat. The meat produced will then be sold to the market for human consumption.

2. Excruciating methods of mutilation

Some parts of animals may cause inconveniences to other animals and the farms themselves. This result in very painful methods of mutilation among young animals. The first example is teeth clipping, which is where a piglet’s sharp teeth are painfully ground using a file. This is done to prevent piglets from injuring other piglets and their mothers while they drink milk. The second example is tail docking, tail docking is where the piglet’s tails are removed to prevent other pigs from biting their tails since farm animals are kept in a very highly populated area which makes their available space too confined. The third example is dehorning, dehorning is done to cows to reduce the chance of injuries among other animals and the workers. Usually, a hot iron rod is used to burn the horn bud-producing tissue. It is illegal to dehorn young cows without anesthetic but they can undergo a process only available during the first week of life which is called chemical cauterization. The last example is castration or the removal of an animal’s testes. This is performed to prevent mating. These practices causes severe pain to young animals, this is why this should only be done as a last resort. There are a lot of more humane methods to deal with this situation.

3. Tampered Animal Growth

Animals like chickens are bred to grow unnaturally fast, this unnatural growth causes malfunctions in their body like weakened bones, infections, and organ failures that greatly decrease the life span of these animals. These unhealthy animals are given antibiotics in order to grow just enough for them to be slaughtered for their meat. It is said that 25% of farmed chickens suffer from lameness, this disorder makes it hard for the chickens to stand up.