Cattle in Australia
Cruelty to cattle
There
are over 26.7 million cattle in Australia. Most are raised for beef,
but around 3 million are kept by the dairy industry.
Beef cattle are kept in most areas of Australia, including the dry outback, such as the Alice Springs region. Temperatures here can be scorching, and droughts are common. Many cattle, especially breeding females, die in these tough conditions.
Many cattle are fire branded. A red hot iron is pressed against their skin to produce a burn scar for permanent identification. Anyone who has ever suffered a burn knows how painful it is.
Some female cattle are desexed without any pain killers by making a cut in their side and pulling out the ovaries. Males are castrated by removing the testicles with a knife or by placing a rubber ring around the scrotum, again without any pain killers.
Some cattle are dehorned with a tool like bolt cutters. The horn contains nerves and blood vessels. When they are cut off, the stump bleeds profusely and is very painful.
More and more beef cattle are fattened in feedlots, where pen after pen is crowded with animals. These large beasts may be given as little as 9m2 of space.
In feedlots cattle are fed an unnatural grain diet, which can cause digestive problems. They can also be fed chicken litter, which is cleaned out of sheds after chickens have dropped their faeces in it for 6-7 weeks. In 1990, 5500 cattle died of botulism after eating poorly treated chicken litter.
Some feedlots have shade, but some don't and cattle are forced to stand in the hot sun. In 1991, 2500 cattle died of heat stroke in a feedlot without shade. More recently, 1250 cattle died of heat stress in a Riverina feedlot.
To produce milk, cows have to produce a calf every year. These calves are taken away from their mother as little as 1 day after birth. This separation is extremely traumatic for both mother and baby.
Most of the male calves and some of the females are slaughtered for veal, some as young as 1 week old. All dairy cows are eventually slaughtered when their milk production goes down.
Painful mutilations are also carried out on dairy cattle - castration, dehorning, and some cows are tail docked. The dairy industry is not cruelty free.
If you want suggestions on how to change your diet to avoid this cruelty, go to Vegetarianism - the cruelty free diet.
For more detailed information, including references, go to The cattle industry in Australia.