Inside the Dairy Nightmare: Cruelty to Cows Exposed
The Japanese dairy industry consists of facilities like those everywhere else in the world: cruel hellholes where cows suffer. So instead of cow’s milk, let’s upgrade to healthy, compassionate, planet-friendly vegan milk.
During a recent PETA exposé of a farm in Japan, a third of the cows were found to be lame and some who were unable to stand were forced to lie in their own waste. Lame cows who were scheduled to be sent to slaughter soon weren’t offered any treatment. A worker was seen kicking a cow who was unable to walk to the milking parlor after giving birth, and other cows were routinely prodded and hit with shovels, metal poles, or wooden sticks. Exhausted animals were also sprayed with water or their tails were twisted in attempts to force them to go to the milking parlor. Cows also suffered from abomasal displacement, a painful and life-threatening condition. No matter the cows’ condition, they were continually milked to maximize profits.
On the same farm, a mother cow desperately called out to her young calf,who had been taken from her an hour after she gave birth. Her mournful cries echoed across the farm, showing the profound emotional bond between mother and baby—a bond completely disregarded by the dairy industry.
Just like humans, cows form strong bonds with their family and friends—they even shed tears after their loved ones die.
Our findings mirror those uncovered in Japan in 2022 at Ibaraki Prefectural Livestock Research Center, where PETA exposed chilling scenes of workers twisting red hot irons into calves’ heads without pain relief and workers kicking, punching, and slapping cows, prompting a complaint to federal authorities. Regardless of the farm or the country, the suffering of cows in the dairy industry remains constant.
A cow’s typical life expectancy is around 20 years, yet those exploited by the dairy industry are often killed after just five years due to the strain of constant pregnancy and lactation. Research shows nearly half of these animals become lame before their premature death—primarily due to prolonged standing on concrete floors and unsanitary living conditions.
We must stop supporting the dairy industry, not just in Japan but all over the world, because it will continue to exploit cows for their flesh and milk and cows will continue to suffer—unless we do something about it. The most effective way to spare these animals is to go vegan:
