It was a heartbreaking scene as a mother cow chased after her calves as they were driven away in an open trailer. In the video released by the animal welfare organization Safe, the mother is seen running quickly behind the trailer as she desperately tries to catch up with it and be reunited with her babies.
According to the Safe’s Facebook page, the following statements described what happened:
“There are millions of reasons to be dairy-free. Here is one of them.
This video showing a cow chasing after a trailer was sent to SAFE by a concerned member of the public. In the dairy industry cows are impregnated every year, with calves taken from their mothers so humans can have their milk. In NZ up to two million are sent to slaughter at 4 days old, as ‘wastage’.”
The video began with the mother cantering closely behind the trailer as it is pulled away from her by a truck carrying her calves. The separation process can be seen here to be extremely stressful for both the mother and the calves. In all likelihood, the calves are males and are being taken away to be slaughtered for their meat – veal which mostly comes from young males not used for breeding. Standard industry practice dictates calves be separated from their mothers within 12 hours of birth.
“Like other mammals, a mother cow must give birth in order to produce milk. Calves are taken from their grieving mothers – around 2 million killed as young as four days of age. They are regarded as unwanted by-products.”
In the November Horizon Research survey:
- 50% of people either thought it was false or did not know that a cow needs to give birth each year to produce milk.
- Over 80% of the public vastly underestimate the number of bobby calves killed per year.
- There is widespread condemnation of the killing of bobby calves soon after birth, with 60% of people feeling it is not acceptable.
- When asked how much trust and confidence they had in the dairy industry to ensure bobby calves are treated humanely, 47% were unconfident.
Studies have shown calves who grow up with their mothers display less erratic behaviors, are more sociable and even enjoy play breaks. They gain weight quicker and have fewer health problems. And if for anything else – can it be any clearer the distress these mother cows and their calves endure?
Did you know that if you want to get updates from a Facebook page, you need to do more than “like” it? To get recent postings in your Facebook feed, you must also hover your mouse over the word “following” and then click “see first” from the drop-down menu. You may want to check back with your favorite pages on occasion because Facebook often changes your settings, no longer having your having your favorites among those to “see first.”
(Photos of mother cow chasing after her babies freeze shots of video via Safe)
Video here:
https://www.facebook.com/SAFEnewzealand/videos/10159746674105434/
Damn 🙁 🙁
Too sad for words. Hard to watch.
I ache for this Mom……Poor babies????????????
People who drink milk need to see more of this and maybe they would understand why many are opposed to cows being impregnated every year just so they can product milk that is really to nourish their calves. Veal, another industry many people have no idea about. Showing more people just how their “meat” gets to their table is something that really needs to be out their for people to see and understand. The cruel and inhumane way these “food” animals are slaughtered makes their deaths even more difficult to understand.
See the size of her udders? That’s the hormones to produce more milk. Those udders are for babies not people. It is unhealthy to consume cross species products. It is not wise or kind to cause misery of others. Animals have the same feelings as you and I. Fear and love and pain and despair–same as you and i. When you eat them, you are eating someones Mother–or Father.
Those udders and hormones–Those hormones go into the milk that we get from the supermarket. Know someone with manboobs? Are we messed up by hormones, antibiotics and poisons fed to these cows? Make up your mind for health or lies from the media and the big milk producers. Take into consideration the torture these animals go through. Try a kinder, healthier world and go vegetarian and vegan.
All done for the almighty dollar – this treatment is vile, despicable and cruel – there should be an animal rights advocacy group who make a TV commercial showing the cruelty involved so these greedy bastards can manufacture milk – I bet many people would end milk consumption.
That was do hard to watch. The dairy industry should be more humane.
Now you see what your glass of milk truly costs!!! These babies will be killed and the mother impregnated AGAIN for her milk.. Think of what you are enabling when you buy DAIRY. Suppose YOU were the cow and had your 12 day old babies ripped away from you !!! Refuse to put it on your table and this will come to a screeching halt. There are TOO MANY other things you can use besides DAIRY. Now think about the meat you consume. Same torture and abuse. Only YOU CAN STOP IT.
I wish the world would go vegan…..the thought that a living breathing animal has to die so we can eat, makes me sick to my stomach and don’t tell me it’s the circle of life……I can’t even imagine whet that precious Mama vow felt when her 4 day old babies were taken away from her to be slaughtered so people could eat veal….I’m happy to say I’m a vegan…..if you didn’t tear up when you read this story you have no heart.
This is reality and it SUCKS! Humans are so thoughtless of other living things.
This is heartbreaking….. I will be trying soy or almond milk now!!!
This is not true, they were moving mom to another pasture which is why the the vehicle had hazard lights on and was going so slow.People need to stop with the misinformation!!!!!