Do we pay enough for the milk we drink? It depends on the cost we attribute to animal suffering, and whether we believe there is a fair price to pay to justify it. A Cow’s Life: The True Cost Of Milk?  is the title of a video, aired on February 14 and available on the BBC Panorama investigative program website, which shows the case of a UK dairy, where brutal abuses of cows and calves are on the agenda. .

The result of the undercover footage taken by an investigator from the animal rights organization Animal Equality, the documentary brings to light multiple incidents of cattle cruelty within the main British dairy supply chains.

The undercover filming took place in late 2021 at Madox Farm – a farm based in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales – which is home to over 650 cows and their calves.

The facility reportedly supplies milk to Freshways , the UK’s largest independent dairy processor and wholesaler. Freshways which, in turn, distributes cow’s milk to numerous large companies, including Costa Coffee, British Airways, P&O Cruises, Amazon Fresh.

The thirty-minute film – defined as “disturbing” by BBC Panorama itself – shows acts of brutality taken to the extreme: animals kicked and punched by workers with shovels and other agricultural objects; cows too weak or injured to stand raised by the hips and dragged across the floor with the aid of heavy machinery; or even condemned to die in excruciating suffering, instead of being subjected to euthanasia, as advised by the veterinarian; another, prodded and struck with the gastric tube used to force-feed her, left to bleed at the mercy of an internal lesion.

The images of the abusealternate with the interviews that the journalist Daniel Foggo conducts with farmers and veterinarians, in order to investigate the conditions and life expectancies for most of the herds in the United Kingdom, and beyond.

Among other things, the footage highlights the routine removal of newborn calves from their mothers.  In the dairy industry, cows are often forcibly impregnated, usually by artificial insemination, so that they are prompted to initiate breastfeeding. Shortly after calving, workers pick up the calves so that their milk can be collected for human consumption, causing the cows and their cubs to separate. 

As noted by Animal Equality , this is a very painful, yet extremely common practice for thousands of businesses, including some small farms and even organic farms .

After the release of the short documentary, there was no shortage of reactions on social media , where tens of thousands of commentators expressed their dismay and their concerns about the industry’s treatment of animals.  Following the evidence gathered, animal law law firm Advocates for Animals filed a complaint with Carmarthenshire County Council on behalf of Animal Equality, which launched a petition calling for greater animal protection. ” Animal Equality has investigated over 40 farms and slaughterhouses in the UK since 2011 and we have found a shocking lack of respect for their well-being in every single facility ,” reads the petition text.

“ The truth is that animal suffering occurs on all farms in this sector which consistently prioritizes profits and, whether it is a small scale organic farm or an intensive farm, animal suffering does not it can never really be avoided . “

It is possible to view and sign the petition on the British website of AnimalEquality, at this link .