In Regards to Footage of Animal Cruelty at a NZ Dairy
In regards to the recent footage of animal cruelty at a NZ Dairy, please see below statement from PETA spokesperson Emma Hurst:
This footage follows a recent PETA exposé of Australia's second largest milk co-operative – where a worker was seen violently bludgeoning a calf to death with a hammer, sick and lame animals were left without needed veterinary treatment for days, and a live cow was dragged by the neck through the mud after repeated attempts to kill her with a captive-bolt gun failed.
Abuse in the dairy industry is the norm. Every year, New Zealand's almost 5 million dairy cows give birth to more than 2 million "bobby calves", who are torn from their mothers within hours of birth and killed, often extremely violently. Worth little to the dairy farmer, bobby calves often do not receive even basic care. After about four days, the youngsters are crammed onto trucks and transported, often over long distances, to face a terrifying and painful slaughter.
People who find cruelty like this hard to swallow can do their part by switching from cows' milk to kinder and healthier options, such as almond, soy, or other vegan milks.