Cattle Facts

Dairy

• Around 20% of dairy cows in Israel suffer from mastitis.[S]

North America

• 16-46% of dairy cows in the US suffer from lameness.[S][S][S]

• 25% of US dairy cows suffer from mastitis.[S]

• 89.3% of US dairies use artificial insemination (AI) to impregnate dairy cows, with 43.7% using it exclusively.[S]

• 33% of US dairy cows have their tails docked (cut), and only 5.1% of those cows received analgesia or anesthesia during the procedure.[S]

• Calves are disbudded or dehorned on 94.3% of US dairies, with only 28.2% of those dairies using analgesics/anesthetics.[S]

• 65.6% of dairy calves in the US are separated from their mothers immediately after birth without any opportunity to nurse, and overall 97.4% of dairy calves in the US are separated from their mothers within 24 hours of birth.[S]

• 80% of lactating dairy cows in the US have no access to pasture.[S]

• 20-35% of dairy cows in Canada suffer from lameness.[S][S]

• 71.8% of dairy cows in Canada are housed in tie-stall barns.[S]

United Kingdom

• More than half of calves on UK dairy farms suffer from disease before weaning.[S]

• In the UK, on average, over the course of a year, there will be around 40–60 cases of clinical mastitis for every 100 dairy cows in a herd.[S]

• 90-95% of UK dairy cows are impreganted via AI.[S]

• 10% of dairy cows in the UK do not have access to pasture.[S]

• Around 30% of dairy cows in the UK suffer from lameness.[S]

Germany

• 23-39% of dairy cows in Germany suffer from lameness.[S][S]

• Around 10% of dairy cows in Germany are housed in tie-stall barns.[S]

• Only 31% of dairy cows in Germany have access to pasture.[S]

• Over 50% of cows on organic dairy farms in Germany suffer from mastitis.[S]

• Over 90% of dairy farms in Germany perform disbudding, with only 0.7-3.7% of them using treatment considered effective at pain relief.[S]

Other Europe

• 20-30% of EU dairy cows suffer from lameness.[S]

• The incidence of clinical mastitis across different EU Member States varies between 20-35% of cows per herd per year.[S]

• 4.7% of dairy calves in Sweden die in the first 6 months of their life.[S]

• Around 17% of dairy cows in Sweden are housed in tie-stall barns.[S]

• 80% of dairy farms in Italy perform disbudding, with only 10% using local anesthesia before the procedure, and only 5% using postoperative analgesia.[S]

• 93% of dairy farms in the Czech Republic perform disbudding, over 90% of them without any pain relief.[S]

• 72% of dairy farms in Finland perform disbudding, but only 45% of them use some form of pain relief.[S]

Australia

• 81% of calves on dairy farms in Australia are disbudded or dehorned. Among calves who are disbudded under 2 months of age, 12% do not receive any pain relief, and the remaining can still experience long-term pain due to inadequate practices.[S][S]

• Nearly 90% of Australian dairy farms use AI to impregnate cattle.[S]

• 19.1% of dairy cows in Australia suffer from lameness.[S]

Japan

• 85.5% of dairy farms in Japan perform dehorning, 85% of those without pain relief.[S]

• Around 70% of dairy cows in Japan are housed in tie-stall barns.[S]

• 72.5% of dairy cows in Japan are given no access to pasture, with only 12.5% being let out every day.[S]

• 34% of dairy cows in Japan suffer from mastitis.[S]

Beef

• A study including hundreds of cattle found that 16.7% of bulls are inadequately stunned, still displaying clear signs of consciousness after being shot.[S]

• 52% of the cattle killed for beef in the UK originate from the dairy herd.[S]

• Around 60% of cattle killed for beef in Sweden originate from the dairy herd.[S]

• Only 21% of beef producers in Australia report to "regularly use pain relief for aversive husbandry practices".[S]

North America

• 99% of beef producers in Canada castrate male calves, with 26% always using pain relief and 20% sometimes using pain relief (54% never use pain relief). Of those that use pain relief, only 9.5% use pain relief considered adequate (local anesthesia + analgesia).[S]

• Long-haul transport of beef cattle in Canada averaged 16 hours in length, with 11% of journeys lasting above 25 hours. Cattle are NEVER given any food or water for the entire journey.[S]

• During long-haul transport of beef cattle in Canada, 21.5% of trucks reach a maximum temperature above 30°C (86°F).[S]

• 88% of beef cattle in the U.S. are castrated,[S] with 80% of farms reporting no use of any pain relief.[S]

• 21% of the US commercial beef supply comes from the dairy sector.[S]

Japan

• 24.4% of older beef calves in Japan are housed in tie-stall barns.[S]

• 41.3% of beef cattle in Japan are given no access to pasture, with only 32.9% being let out every day.[S]

• 59.5% of beef farms in Japan perform dehorning, 79.4% of those without pain relief.[S]

• 86.7% of beef farms in Japan perform castration, typically without anesthesia.[S][S]