Hello 👋,
This is a young fella whom I named Benji. He lives on a local dairy farm...
Anyhow, I recently went back to vegan from veggie, mainly out of compassion for animals. However, my parents (whom I am staying with at the moment) live right next to a dairy farm. I love living in the countryside, but living right next to a dairy farm as a sensitive and passionate vegan can be distressing...
I was outside when I heard gunshots. For those who don't know, dairy farmers often shoot unwanted male calves as they won't grow up to make milk. Sometimes, the calves are kept to grow into beef cattle, but often the unwanted male calves are shot.
Separating calves from mothers is also very, very distressing for both calf and mother. It can be distressing to hear the cows/calves bellowing in distress/calling to their mothers/babies. Cows are often very maternal creatures.
You might remember the "Baby Mine" scene in "Dumbo", after Dumbo's mother has been locked away. Well, dairy cows are also maternal and can really mourn for their calves.
Some dairy farms have already switched to keeping calves with their mothers. This is challenging for farmers, but doable. Is it perfect? No. Is it better than taking babies away from mothers? Yes. It may be challenging and costly, but please prioritise ethics and the animals above profits! They are sentient beings and they are worth it. This farmer may have kids of his own - if so, would he like it if someone took away his kids and shot them?
As for what could be done with the unwanted male calves, could they not be kept for breeding? Could they not be sold on for breeding? Could they be sent to sanctuaries? Apparently, cows and steers can even be fine companion animals - could they not be castrated and sold as companions, for more money than the slaughterhouses would pay for them?
We will boycott this business until you make these changes!!!! We will carry on contacting you and keeping on until you make these changes!!!
I may know hardly anything about farming, but I care so, so very, very much about animals!
Please save the calves and stop taking them away from their mothers unless it is advised by a veterinarian based on the animals' own best interests to separate them!!!
