When my husband and I got married, he was already a dairy farmer, and we continued dairy farming for several years until he decided to transition to deer farming. Our herd consisted of approximately 420 cows. In New Zealand, dairy cows are indeed slaughtered, mainly because disposing of a cow on the farm can be challenging and time-consuming. We had specific reasons for culling a cow:

If she failed to conceive and did not get pregnant.

If her milk production consistently remained too low.

If she suffered from chronic or repeated mastitis.

If she experienced repeated birthing difficulties and required assistance.

If she developed chronic health issues like lameness.

As a result, many of our cows remained in the herd well into their teenage years. However, with advancing age, a cow’s fertility or milk production inevitably declines. In such cases, we would send her to a slaughterhouse where she would undergo humane stunning to ensure irreversible unconsciousness before being bled out. It’s important to note that throughout the developed world, laws mandate humane slaughter practices.

Dairy cows on farms give birth to calves at the same frequency as feral cows, which is once a year. The claim made by animal rights activists (ARAs) that the frequency is higher than in nature is simply untrue and unfounded.

We never culled cows that were pregnant. It is neither normal nor standard practice to do so, contrary to what some ARAs may suggest. We took care of raising all the calves ourselves and sold bull calves as yearlings to specialized bull farmers. Dairy bull calves are valuable animals, and some individuals even purchase them as four-day-old calves to raise them by hand. The notion that they are killed at birth is yet another myth propagated by certain ARAs.