Hours or Days After Birth: How Dairy Farms Separate Cows and Calves
2023 · Reporting by EFSA and dairy-science researchers
Summary
Dairy farming depends on regular pregnancies, and separating the calf soon after birth is common practice. Research reviews find that separating very early reduces the immediate distress response, while longer contact tends to benefit calves' later behaviour. In 2023 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommended keeping calves with their mothers for at least the first day and moving gradually towards longer contact.
Part 1
Why calves are separated
A cow starts each milking cycle by giving birth, so dairy cows are usually made pregnant again within months of calving. Calves are commonly removed within hours or days, so that the milk can be sold and so that farms can feed and monitor calves individually.
Female calves are usually raised as replacement dairy cows. Male calves of dairy breeds produce less meat than beef breeds; depending on the country, they are reared for veal or beef, exported, or killed soon after birth. Dairy cows themselves are usually culled after a small number of lactations; a 2021 review of high-producing countries examines why herd longevity is short and how it is measured.
Part 2
What the research shows
A 2019 systematic review in the Journal of Dairy Science, led by Rebecca Meagher with colleagues at the University of British Columbia, compared studies of early separation with prolonged cow–calf contact. Separating within 24 hours generally produced a smaller acute distress response than separating after a longer bond had formed.
The same review found that longer contact tended to benefit calves over time, with more normal social behaviour and less abnormal behaviour, although results varied between studies. The choice is therefore not between stress and no stress: early separation lowers the immediate reaction but gives up the longer-term benefits of contact.
Part 3
What EFSA recommends
In its 2023 scientific opinion on the welfare of calves, EFSA recommended keeping calves with their dams for at least one day after birth and progressively moving towards longer contact, while noting that more research is needed on how to do this in practice.
The opinion also notes that male dairy calves can enter veal production, where rearing systems carry very different welfare risks.
Part 4
Changes under way
In Great Britain, the industry's Dairy Calf Strategy set a goal of ending the routine euthanasia of male dairy calves by 2023 by developing dairy-beef supply chains. It is an industry strategy and target, not a legal ban.
Researchers and some farms in Europe are testing cow–calf contact systems, where calves stay with their mothers or with foster cows for longer. EFSA calls for more research on making these systems work in practice.
Questions
Questions people ask
Why are dairy calves separated from their mothers?
Is it better to separate calves early or late?
What happens to male dairy calves?
Sources
Where this reporting comes from
Figures on this page come from the official reports, laws and peer-reviewed studies listed here. Campaign groups are cited only for what their own investigations recorded.
Facts reviewed: