Milk without separating mother and calf

Every year, each of Switzerland’s approximately 500,000 dairy cows gives birth so that she can be used for milk production. Dairy cows that are allowed to care for their calves are, unfortunately, a rare exception.

In today’s dairy industry, mother and calf are usually separated shortly after birth, because humans claim all the milk for themselves. On Saturday, 10 October, it will have been 100 days since the legal ambiguities were resolved and calves are officially permitted by law to remain with their mothers. Yet unfortunately, only a few farms practice mother-bonded calf rearing — in more than 99 percent of cases, the newborn calf is separated from its mother. VIER PFOTEN is encouraging farms to switch to mother-bonded calf rearing.

Only a cow that gives birth produces milk

Around 500,000 dairy cows live in Switzerland. But dairy cows do not give milk “just like that”. Milk is actually intended to nourish the calf — it is mother’s milk. A cow only produces milk after she has given birth to a calf. Dairy cows therefore give birth to a calf every year.Because humans want to use all of the milk, however, cow and calf are usually separated from each other shortly after birth, and the calves spend their first weeks alone in what are known as calf igloos. Contact with other animals is often only possible through metal bars, and the calves receive milk — or often only milk replacer — from teat buckets or automatic feeders. This causes great suffering for both the calves and their mothers, as cows want to care for their calves and calves need their mothers, since they are born entirely without their own immune system.

Living out the natural bond

There is an alternative: mother-bonded calf rearing. This allows calves to stay with their mothers for several months and drink from the udder, even while the cow continues to be milked. The cow and calf can thus live out their natural relationship, and by consuming their mother's milk, the calf receives important nutrients tailored to its individual needs in order to develop healthily. From an animal welfare perspective, this type of production represents a significant improvement in the wellbeing of both cow and calf.

For a long time, the permissibility of mother-bonded calf rearing was disputed due to a questionable, outdated legal provision. With the revision of food law, this legal hurdle has been removed, and for 100 days now, calves have officially been allowed to stay with their mothers and drink milk naturally from the udder.

VIER PFOTEN now hopes that as many dairy farms as possible will switch to this more animal-friendly form of milk production as soon as possible.

Out of around 19’000 dairy farms, fewer than 30 known operations currently allow their calves to grow up with their mothers. While one often sees cows with their calves, what many people do not realize is that these are not dairy cows but rather cattle raised for meat production. There, mother cow husbandry has already been established for several years.

Yasmine Wenk, Campaigner at VIER PFOTEN Switzerland

Healthier Animals with Strong Social Skills

Calves are born entirely without their own immune system, which is why so-called colostrum (first milk) shortly after birth is crucial for the calf. The first milk provides the calf with the antibodies it needs to build up its immune system. This works similarly to humans. Although calves also receive colostrum directly from humans in conventional rearing, nursing from the mother has a major advantage: if the calf continues to be nursed by the cow beyond this «first milk period»first milk periodit has a positive effect on the calves’ health. This is because the cow can continue to supply her calf through her milk with exactly the right nutrients and antibodies, making the calf less susceptible to illness. In addition, contact with the mother is very important for the social development of calves. They receive affection and learn behaviours and social interactions, including with adult cows.

Under https://www.mu-ka.ch you can find a map showing farms and retail outlets in Switzerland for milk and dairy products from mother-reared calf husbandry.