Footage obtained by Animal Justice reveals more than 100 young calves living in isolation at a Southwestern Ontario dairy farm. Being forced to live alone small hutches causes emotional pain and suffering, and goes against the industry’s own guidelines. We have filed a formal complaint with Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services (AWS), which enforces the province’s animal protection laws. We urge AWS to investigate this facility and hold the company accountable for causing unlawful animal suffering. The heartbreaking footage shows calves confined to solitary hutches with bars; this prevents any physical contact with other calves or access to outdoor space. This inhumane practice violates the dairy industry’s own guidelines set out in the National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle (Dairy Code) which states that calves in outdoor hutches should have both physical and visual contact with one another.
Cows are sensitive, social animals who form strong connections with each other and share deep bonds with their calves. Social interactions and maternal care are crucial for the emotional growth and well-being of young calves. Since cows must give birth to produce milk, the dairy industry typically separates babies from their mothers soon after birth. These newborns are often confined, even tied, to tiny hutches, for at least the first eight weeks of their lives. Cow-calf separation is a common practice in Canada’s dairy and veal industries that causes physical and psychological distress.
Male calves are useless to the dairy industry. Once stolen from their mothers, they are typically shot or sold for veal. In contrast, the industry often keeps female calves and raises them to become dairy cows—perpetuating the cycle of cruelty.
The Need for Stronger Animal Protection Laws
Canada lacks legally binding standards to protect farmed animals, relying on industry-led bodies like NFACC to define acceptable practices for the very animals they exploit for profit. In Ontario, enforcement agencies often rely on these guidelines to determine if the ‘distress’ of animals qualifies as cruelty.
This heartbreaking new footage illustrates how the industry often gives lip service to its own minimal “standards”, and underscores the urgent need for legally binding regulations to protect the health and wellbeing of farmed animals, created independently from the industry that profits off these vulnerable animals.
Canada needs legally binding standards to protect the health and well-being of farmed animals and prevent Ontario dairy farm cruelty. Tell Canada’s Agriculture Minister to combat animal abuse in the dairy industry by passing regulations to protect calves and other farmed animals across the country.
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