Life Cycle of Dairy Cows Ver2F

Author(s): Pravin K Shah
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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Life Cycle of a Dairy Cow in America (Version-2) In her lifetime, an American dairy cow experiences many lifestyle changes. 1st Phase - Birth From the moment of her artificially induced conception to her birth nine months later, she exists in the nurturing environment of her mother's womb. 2nd Phase - Productive life After birth, bonding with her mother lasts for no more than a few minutes to couple of days. Does a calf experience separation anxiety? We should know the answer to that question after hearing her tortured cry (I have experienced this during my visit to a dairy farm). After the separation, the baby calf is force-fed between one and two gallons of colostrums by the human farmer. Without this first nutrient-rich bovine milk, she would succumb to illness and die in her first two months of life. Does the mother accept that separation? Each year, tens of thousands of incidents are reported in which angry cows seek revenge upon dairy farmers. Each year, hundreds of dairy farmers are trampled, gored, attacked, and killed. Newspaper accounts blame such incidents on irrational unthinking beasts. Cows live a lifetime of stress so long as they produce enough milk to be profitable to the dairy farmer. On an average an American Dairy Cow produces 24.5 quarts of milk per day. However about 50 years ago (in 1960) a dairy cow used to produce 8.0 quarts per day under natural living condition at the family farm. The high yield is accomplished by keeping all dairy cows pregnant continuously during their three to fours years of productive life. Also every day hormones are injected in her body to produce more milk. This way the cow's body has to work very hard to produce 3 times more milk than her natural living way. Once she becomes less productive or unproductive (around 4 to 5 years of age), or once she becomes too diseased to be cured, she is culled (removed) from the herd. 3 Phase - Unproductive Life Journey About thirty percent of America's dairy cows are culled from herds each year. Hence the entire herd gets replaced with new cows within three to four years. To be culled is to be taken from the familiar surroundings of a farm and packed onto a truck with other non-productive or diseased creatures. The fear factor culled cows experience is extreme. Most Americans would guess that at this point the cow is sent to a slaughter house. That is not so for most of the cows. Additional indignities await her. The true torture begins once the cow leaves the dairy farm. Her first stop is not the slaughterhouse but the auction ring. Also, once a cow leaves a farm for her ultimate death, compassion is no longer a concern to human handlers called middleman. Cows are loaded onto trucks at the dairy farm. The ride to auction can be traumatic. Terrified creatures are unloaded from the truck after bumpy rides in which they receive no food or water and are guided into holding pens. Employees of auction houses are often low paid workers who have no interest in animal rights issues. Their job is to move the animals in the proper direction. The cows are led into rings while spectators sit in tiered bleachers and offer bids to an auctioneer's call. (I have visited such auctioning of cows places). Many bidders sit in the audience, content to purchase a number of animals depending upon the size of their slaughter operation. Each cow or calf awaits its turn. (Twenty three cents per pound? Sold. Next..). 4th Phase - Final Extinction The cow is now owned by the successful bidder. It is his job to get the animal loaded onto his truck and shipped safely to his slaughterhouse facility. After experiencing a first truck ride, no cow ever wants to again climb the ramp onto a man's vehicle. These are the most painful and undignified moments of a cow's life. Tails are grabbed and twisted. Nose rings are pulled and sometimes ripped from faces. Gentle creatures are stunned with high voltage electrical prods. Even the most stubborn of creatures eventually goes for her second and final ride.