Hundreds of heavily pregnant cows are still being sent to slaughterhouses each year in the Netherlands. Transporting them is illegal in Europe.
Figures from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), obtained by the Dutch news platform RTL Nieuws, show that at least 227 cases have been recorded since the beginning of last year.
European law bans the transport of cows in the final stage of pregnancy. Farmers who break the rules can be fined €1,500.
‘A terrible death‘
Anne Hilhorst from the animal welfare organisation Wakker Dier said the practice causes serious suffering: “Transporting a heavily pregnant cow is forbidden and causes a lot of suffering. The transport is extra hard for her. And when she is slaughtered, her fully grown calf suffocates, kicking, in the womb.”
Despite the ban, violations still occur regularly. Farmers often say they do not know how far the pregnancy has progressed.
According to Hilhorst, that is not a valid reason: “It is the responsibility of the company to keep track of when which cow was inseminated. Poor administration is no excuse.”
At dairy farms, most cows are pregnant at any given time because they need to give birth regularly to produce milk.
Unborn calves and pain
Cows, like humans, are pregnant for about nine months. When a cow is slaughtered, she is first stunned and then bleeds to death. This means the unborn calf no longer receives oxygen through the umbilical cord. The calf then and from suffocation in the womb.
Science does not give one clear answer, but several studies suggest that in the final months of pregnancy, the calf’s nervous system is developed enough to feel pain.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theanimalreader.com
