Calf separation on Tasmanian dairy farms

In September 2023, Farm Transparency Project captured the separation of newborn calves from their mothers at four Tasmanian dairy farms.

In order to make milk for human consumption, dairy cows need to be pregnant. Female cows are artificially inseminated multiple times a year, so that they can continue to be milked every day. When they give birth, they bond with their babies immediately, only to have them ripped away from them, usually within hours, so that humans can take their milk to be sold.