Dear Brigitte,

Mother cows—like most animals—are deeply bonded to their newborns. They socialize with them, go to great lengths to protect them, and nourish them with milk until they’re nearly a year old.

On dairy farms, cows are forcibly impregnated every year, and when their calves are born, they are traumatically ripped away just days later.

The sounds of mother cows calling out for their lost calves is heartbreaking, but if the dairy industry had its way, consumers would never hear them. The industry even pushes for “ag-gag” laws to prohibit whistleblowers from releasing video footage of the abuse.

While some dairy products on grocery shelves may show idyllic images of rolling green fields and happy cows grazing alongside their calves, the exploitation of cows for dairy always involves tremendous suffering.

A cow’s natural life expectancy is about 20 years, but on dairy farms, cows live just five years—worn out from years of constant pregnancy and lactation. Nearly half are lame by the time of their deaths due to standing on concrete and filth in intensive confinement.

Their calves won’t fare much better.

Female calves are destined for the same cycle of suffering that their mothers endured. Male calves are considered “byproducts” of the dairy industry. Many of them are shipped off and slaughtered, often at just a few months old.

PETA is challenging false claims of “humane practices,” and we need your help to keep such vital work going strong.

Not only will the legal protections we fight for help expose more people to the cruelty behind misleadingly labeled “humane” dairy products, they’ll also set legal precedents to protect animals for decades to come. We’re getting ag-gag laws defeated or ruled unconstitutional so our life-changing videos can be used to show exactly what calves and cows endure.

Thank you for all your support. You’re helping to build a world in which all living, feeling beings are treated with care and respect.