INTENSIVE farming to meet demand for milk is pushing dairy cows to “exhaustion” and exacerbating problems such as mastitis and lameness, animal activists say.
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A report by animal welfare group Voiceless, says farms are producing more milk using fewer cows in less space.
While the dairy cow population has been stable at 1.6 million for 30 years, annual milk production has doubled to 9.3 million litres, Agriculture Department figures show.
The grazing area for cows in Victoria, where two-thirds of that milk is produced, has shrunk 35 per cent.
The report says the modern cow commonly suffers mastitis, lameness, metabolic disorders, mutilation procedures and the inevitability of repeatedly losing her calf.
It says the “pain and suffering” will worsen amid expectations for cheaper milk.
“Reform is needed, particularly if the growth in output and the pressures toward intensification of dairying continue,” the report says.
But president of peak body Australian Dairy, Noel Campbell, disputed the conclusions, saying farmers would increase their herds 25 per cent if demand pushed production to 12 million litres.
