WHY CUTTING BACK ON DAIRY COULD SAVE CALVES LIKE GANDHI
Young calf Gandhi was heading for slaughter last year. But after being rescued, he couldn’t be happier…
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Emily* was part of a group of activists who were inspired to save Gandhi after seeing lorryloads of calves queuing for a ferry, where they were to be taken abroad to be slaughtered. Speaking during “Februdairy” – the dairy industry’s monthlong campaign to promote its products – Emily says, “We had been protesting against live exports at the harbour when we saw lorries full of baby calves. We were desperate to save their lives, but it wasn’t possible.” But while it was too late for them, the activists were inspired to call local farmers, to convince them to release other calves headed for slaughter. Emily says, “We cold-called dozens of farmers and were so pleased we were able to rescue Gandhi and some others from a farm in Dorset.” Shockingly, 100,000 calves
are mercilessly sent to slaughter every year in the UK. “In the dairy industry, female cows are artificially inseminated throughout their lives, so they become pregnant and produce milk,” says Emily. “But their calves are taken away when they’re only a few weeks old, so the milk can be used in dairy products and sold for human consumption instead.” After being driven to an animal shelter in Essex, Gandhi was treated for malnutrition and severe diarrhoea. But now Gandhi is thriving at the sanctuary. Emily adds, “Gandhi is affectionate and has learned to trust humans again. You wouldn’t believe he’s the same nervous creature that once used
Cows often face terrible conditions
Gandhi has happily settled into his new home
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to totter around looking for his mum. “The other cows rescued are also happy in their new homes. I dream of a day when people realise how cruelly treated the majority of cows are in order to produce milk for the dairy industry, so no more cows have to suffer in the way Gandhi did.”
HOW TO HELP Switch to plant-based milk or ask your supermarket to stock RSPCA assured milk, via Rspcaassured. org.uk/get-involved/ lobby-your-supermarket. You can also visit Compassioninfoodbusiness. com to find which suppliers have won a Good Dairy Award.
*NAME HAS BEEN CHANGED. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK
hen he was just three weeks old, Gandhi, and a group of other calves, were just a day away from being slaughtered. Gandhi was useless to the dairy industry as he can’t produce milk. And like so many other male calves, he was destined to be loaded on to a lorry headed for a slaughterhouse. There he would have been killed and his carcass used for the pharmaceutical and leather industries rather than for beef, as it costs more money to rear cows for meat. But Gandhi’s life was saved in July 2019, when animal campaigners negotiated with a farmer to release him and 11 other calves – the most the farmer was willing to give up. The lucky cows were taken to sanctuaries in the UK but, sadly, so many like them couldn’t be saved.
