A1
1
The number of hours before a calf is taken from it’s mother to stop it drinking the milk destined for humans.
A2
2.6 million
The number of cows used
for milk in the UK.
A3
60,000
According to a 2020 report, every year in the UK an estimated 60,000 male calves – approximately 15% of all male calves born in the dairy industry – were shot on-farm.
A4
50%
Up to 50% of cows used for dairy suffer from mastitis – a painful infection of the udder, which is related to continued milking over several years, causing secretions of pus.
A5
25
The natural lifespan of a cow
is around 25 years.
A6
5
The average lifespan of a dairy cow until it is no longer economically viable to produce the vast amount of milk desired and is sent for slaughter.
A7
20%
The number of UK dairy farms that have adopted the zero-graze system (Cows are not allowed to be outdoors on the grass – and are usually confined 24/7 in stalls on concrete). This number, sadly, is only expected to grow.
A8
24
Some cows who are kept in tie-stalls (tethered by chain, metal bars or ropes tied around their necks), are chained without being able to move or even turn around for 24 hours a day.
A9
15
The age (in months) when a cow is artificially inseminated for the first time in the dairy industry.
A10
9
The number of months a mother cow carries her baby in her womb.
Just like humans.
A11
3
The number of months until a cow is impregnated again after giving birth in order to maintain the unnaturally high yield of milk production the industry demands.
A12
15.3 billion
The number of litres of milk
produced per year in the UK.
A13
50 billion
The yearly number of litres of slurry (waste from cows in the UK) much of which runs off from farms and into rivers, streams, and waterways where it pollutes the water, causing untold damage to the environment and wildlife.
A14
8,200
A dairy cow produces around 8,200 litres of milk per year (approx 22 litres per day) double the value that each cow produced in 1975.
A15
8
After being torn away from their mothers only hours from birth, female calves usually spend the first 8 weeks of their lives confined alone in barren hutches, where they are force-fed a milk replacement.
A16
3 or 4
The number of times a cow goes through the vicious cycle of artificial insemination, birth, and artificially high milk production, until she is killed due to sickness, or is no longer able to maintain the level of milk production demanded by the farm/dairy industry. Most are then used for cheap meat or leather products.
A17
33%
The number of Brits now reported to be consuming plant-based milk on a regular basis.
A18
25%
About one-quarter of dairy cattle suffer from some degree of lameness, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), a levy board funded by farmers and growers.