Calves are taken from their mothers within 12-24 hours of birth. If nature was allowed to take its course—calves would suckle from their mother for several months, even up to a year. Mother cows, like most mammals have a strong maternal bond. One study found that this bond was formed in as little as five minutes.[1]

When calves are removed mother cows will frantically bellow for the offspring that they will never see again. Separated calves appear frightened and bewildered. Regardless of how this situation is handled this separation causes enormous stress for both the cow and calf.

New mothers are returned to the milking herd to maximise profits. The milk that nature destined for the calf is then processed for human consumption.

Around three quarters of a million unwanted dairy calves, not wanted for herd replacement or rearing for pink veal, are slaughtered each year as ‘waste-products’ of the dairy industry — usually at around the tender age of  5 - 6 days old.   Dairy calves are not valued as they don’t grow at the same rate as beef calves and their meat quality is considered sub-standard by the beef industry.  

As soon as calves reach their fifth day of life (after separation from their mothers they are fed a milk substitute) the Australian livestock transport standards [2] allow the calves to be transported to abattoirs and saleyards. Bewildered calves are subjected to the stresses of unfamiliar sights and sounds and multiple and often rough handling as they are transported to calf scales, sale yards and slaughterhouses.

While Standards and Guidelines are written to protect the welfare of animals during transport [2], these fall far short from protecting these young vulnerable animals from suffering.

For example, the industry deems it acceptable to withhold food (milk) from five day old calves for up to 30 hours before they are slaughtered. This means that calves can be fed in the morning, than transported and kept at the abattoir overnight without any food before being killed the next day. To go without food for such an extensive period of time has an enormous negative welfare impact due to a feeling of hunger next to the already stressful event of transport. Whilst calves normally suckle about 5 times a day, the Australian Standards and Guidelines for transporting animals allow this to happen.