Why are pregnant cows being killed?
90% of the cows are dairy cows and the majority of farmers do not even realize that they are pregnant. In the BCVA survey, 50.9% thought the cow wasn t pregnant and 27.3% said they did not know. Infertility was cited as the most common reason for culling an animal, followed by mastitis (a painful swelling of the udders common in dairy cows) and then old age. So some cows are being sent to slaughter because they are assumed to be infertile when they are in fact pregnant. Dairy cows who are over thirty months of age must be slaughtered and incinerated under BSE regulations. The compensation payment structure encourages the killing of pregnant cows. Animals sent through market are weighed liveweight and the farmer is compensated per kilo. If the animal is pregnant, the farmer will receive extra money. How are the animals killed? There are no special regulations in place to protect pregnant animals in slaughterhouses. Viva! has filmed in abattoirs and conducted a full investigation of the
