By J. Lee

Horrors of Animal Farming – Beef, Veal and Dairy Industry

This story exposes the horrors on beef, veal and dairy farms.

Writing this story was as heartbreaking as my poultry story. It is not to convince anyone to go vegan or vegetarian. Its purpose is to open your eyes to the brutality cattle and calves endure. Future stories will disclose abuses in other animal farming industries.

All of the abuses are disturbing especially the cruel and painful debudding, tail docking and castration process. It will be a while before I can get the nightmare of my research out of my mind. Too many animal farms lacks humanity. Profits should never create or justify suffering.

Before you buy beef and veal, find out if the animal was acquired from an animal farm which has been cited for animal cruelty. Does the label at the time of purchase say they are humanely treated and is that true?

How are cattle and calves confined? Are they grass-fed? If not, what are they fed?  Will you be exposed to antibiotics, pesticides and growth hormones that are harmful to your health?

• Humanitarian: A Humane Guide to Meat Labels
• Grass-fed
• Pasture-raised
• Free-range
• Humane certifications
• Organic

Abuse at cattle farms is horrendous. It is tragic that so much pain is inflicted on animals at slaughter houses and dairy farms. What happened to humanity and compassion? What type of person could inflict so much pain?

Dairy cows are repeatedly artificially impregnated to keep them lactating. Their calves are forcibly removed from their mothers within 24 hours to several days where they will be processed for human consumption.

(Warning Graphic) DAIRY Cows & BEEF Cows in Factory Farming: Watch this quick video about the basic facts dealing with the dairy & beef industry in the United States!

(Warning Graphic) Mercy for Animals: SHOCKING! Dairy Farm Caught Abusing Cows on Hidden-Camera 

(Warning Graphic/Profanity) Mercy For Animals: Dairy’s Dark Side – Undercover Investigation: Animals investigation is pulling back the curtains on the largest dairy factory farm in New York State — Willet Dairy in Locke.

(Warning Graphic) PETA: Undercover Investigation Reveals Cows Suffer for Land O’Lakes: A PETA undercover investigation inside a Land O’Lakes supplier facility in Pennsylvania revealed routine neglect and cruelty to cows whose milk is used for the giant company’s products.

Cows are aware when their calves are taken. They become stressed. Once removed, the calf is placed in a crate. It will have restricted movement; it will be malnourished and iron deficient so the consumer can eat tender meat. They suffer in veal crates during their life span of approximately 16 weeks.

The Humane Society (HSUS): Veal Crates – Despite almost universal public opposition, hundreds of thousands of calves raised for veal are intensively confined in individual crates too narrow for them even to turn around.

State Laws – The HSUS has helped pass regulations banning veal crates in several states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Rhode Island.

PETA: Cows Used for Food – On industrial farms, calves are generally taken from their dairy-cow mothers within a day of birth to be raised for meat. Veal calves’ diets and movements are tightly restricted to keep their muscles from developing, which makes the resulting meat tender.

There are many painful procedures performed on cows and calves without the use of anesthetic or pain relief.

Animals Australia: Cattle: Painful procedures: Most calves born in Australia quickly come face to face with some harsh realities. In an effort to cut ‘operational costs’ most farms force animals to endure painful surgical procedures without pain relief.

• Dehorning

• Castration

• Branding

• Electro-immobilization

Cows are painfully disbudded (also known as dehorned) – the process of removing horns without the use of anesthetic or pain relief.

RSPCA: Why are cows and calves disbudded/dehorned?: Disbudding and dehorning are performed by farmers or contractors, commonly without the use of anaesthetic or pain relief and results in significant acute pain. Dehorning involves using special equipment to cut through the bone and horn tissue – this is more painful than disbudding. If the calf is not effectively restrained, the procedure is even more stressful for the animal. Studies have also shown that calves not provided with pain relief compared to those who have, have reduced appetite for up to two weeks after the procedure, indicating ongoing pain is also experienced.

Tail docking is painful. It is the partial amputation of the tail without the use of anesthetic or pain relief.

RSPCA: Why are the tails of dairy cows docked?The cow’s tail is docked using a rubber ring, a sharp knife or a hot docking iron. Because the procedure is performed without anaesthetic or pain relief, the cow experiences acute pain. The cow may also experience chronic pain due to inflammation and lesions caused by the procedure (e.g. nerve tumours).

Not only is the procedure painful and may result in chronic pain, shortening the tail prevents the cow from swatting at flies. This results in an increased number of flies around the hind quarters causing distress due to the intense irritation and annoyance.

Dairy cows are given a bovine growth hormone which are unsafe for cattle and for humans. It is used to increase milk production in dairy cows.

Global Healing Center: 8 Shocking Facts about Bovine Growth Hormone: Since bovine growth hormone received FDA approval in 1993, three disturbing health trends have emerged. Cancer cases continue to increase, obesity has become an epidemic and early onset puberty has become the norm. Related? Maybe, maybe not. You can be the judge as you read through the following 8 facts about the substance known as BGH, or rBGH. Whatever conclusion you arrive at, you’ll probably agree that keeping this substance far away from you and your family is good practice.

As consumers we can demand change to improve conditions for animal as well making sure what we eat is healthy to consume.

It is within your power to choose kindness over cruelty. There is something we all can do. We can support organizations on the front lines, we can become activists, we can contact legislators or sign petitions.

Thanks for caring!

Here are 18 Organizations Working to Improve Livestock Management Practices you can contact to find out how you can get involved.

Petition: Ban inhumane veal crates in Florida

Petition: Leprino Foods – Stop Horrific Cruelty on Dairy Farm

Petition: Antibiotics – Stop the spread of superbugs

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