The Age, 9 September 2007

Sadly, the increase in dairy consumption in Asia ("China seeks milk, cows run dry", 2/9) means that more cows will now suffer. My eyes were recently opened to the outright callousness of this industry by an ex-dairy worker. He and the farmer had come across a cow who had just given birth and was tenderly licking her calf. Without warning, the farmer violently slammed his body into hers, knocking her off balance. She stumbled and cried out. The slamming was repeated, then, by means of slaps and shouts he forced her to the barn.

Her precious calf? The "f---ing bull" was picked up in the cold, steel bucket of a skid steer and sold, within days, to a veal farmer. This is the cold, harsh reality of dairy farming. Cows condemned to a continuous cycle of rape, pregnancy and birth � then the tragic loss of their calves. In Australia, 1 million tiny "bobby calves" are sent to slaughter each year. This cold-blooded industry is based solely on lies and greed. Humans have no more need of cows' milk than giraffe milk. The only ones who require cows' milk � and have the right to it � are calves.

JENNY MOXHAM,
Monbulk

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