The Use of Animals in the Society - Coursework Example

Society Use of Animals A Research Paper Presented to (Name of professor) (Name of Institution) In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree Bachelor of Science By (Your name) 14, November, 2008. Introduction The use of animals in the society is not a new thing and human beings have for times ever depended on animals for various purpose including food, transport, security, prestige, sporting, hunting, and in psychology animals have been used for experimentation. Researchers also use animals in their studies especially in biology. This paper focuses on the use of dairy cows and beef cows in the United Kingdom. Various factors will be discussed in this paper. Dairy cows Dairy cows are used by human beings for production of milk. Milk is an important source of proteins and is used in making other products for food. Dairy farming has along history and has changed over time with improvement in technology. In the United Kingdom, dairy farming is a major agricultural activity. By the year 2007, the population of dairy cows in the UK amounted to 1.9 million (Appleby, 2005). Dairy farming is an intensive industry where cows are pushed to maximize milk production. This is done through a combination of factors such as selective breeding, high protein feeds along with latest technology. The special breeds of dairy cows that were specialized to suit certain environmental conditions have almost disappeared in the UK countryside. Holstein-Freshian is the major breed used for milk production not only in the UK but makes 90% of the dairy cows in European Union in general. As dairy production becomes concentrated on fewer and fewer farms, herd sizes increase dramatically. Consequently milk production has increased to a greater extent. In 1940’s an average cow would produce about 3000 liters, 1983/84, production increased to 4940 and by 1995, milk production per cow per year increased to 6300 liters. Currently a cow can produce an average of 10000-12000 liters of milk per year due to improved technology in the dairy industry. The dairy sector employs 26, 600 people in the UK. 87% per cent work within operation of dairies and cheese, and the remaining 13% in the manufacture of ice cream. The strain to high milk production comes at a price. The welfare of animals faces serious problems due to this pressure to produce maxima (Griffin, 2006). The problems range from increased rate of mastitis, lameness and infertility. The average milking life of a cow has also been serious affected from the normal 25 years to 5 years at which cows are sent to slaughter only after 3-4 gestations. A government advisory welfare advisory body in the UK terms the issue of forcing a cow to produce excessively high milk quantities thus causing metabolic stress on the cow which leads to early culling is a as a very serious welfare issue. For a cow to produce milk, it has to bear a calf. This calf would naturally suckle for 6-12 months. However in modern dairy production, calves are separated from their mothers within the first 48 hours to maximize milk production. This separation is stressing to both the mother and the calf as the strong maternal bond formed between the mother and the calf is terminated at a very tender age. As Professor John Webster, an expert in dairy cow husbandry, the separation of the calf from its mother is the most distressing event in the dairy cow’s life. The professor points out that, “the cow will submit herself to considerable personal discomfort or risk to nourish and protect her calf” This have been shown in cows who escape and walk miles to look for their calves sold on to another farm. Milk production in a cow is as a result of birth. The modern dairy cow is therefore made pregnant when still lactating to maximize milk production. She therefore bears a calf on yearly basis hence she gets worn out within a short time usually 5 years and she is sent to slaughter. The insemination is done artificially. Raising the calves is also another welfare concern of the dairy cows. Female calves are selected for herd replacement of the older dairy cows which are culled. These female calves spend their first 6-8 weeks of life in individually in small confined narrow pens. Having being separated from their mother and worse more denied an opportunity to interact meaningfully with their peers, the calves suffer behavioral deprivation which affects them throughout their lives. Even when the calves are raised in groups, free to interact, welfare is still not observed as they are fed with artificial feed or bucket teats when they should be suckling warm milk from their mothers. The young calves became vulnerable to diseases as they lack colostrums that is present in mothers first milk which is loaded with extra nutrients together with antibodies which help prevent diseases. For this reason about 170,000 calves in the UK die from this welfare issue. The common calf killers are Scouring/diarrhea and respiratory infections. To counter this problem the UK government has encouraged the rearing of organic dairy cows which tries to observe a natural life to reduce stress and avoid exploitation of the animal by stressing yield (Mark, 1998). For male calves born of dairy cows, they are perceived by farmers as not worthy for meat as they are so specialized for milk. Before it ban in 1990, these calves were exported outside UK to other European cruel veal crates when only two weeks old. This was due to BSE fears and world wide ban on British calf export and beef. The government established a Calf Processing Aid scheme which paid farmers to have their calves killed when only a few days old. Male curves are unwanted by-products in the dairy industry and are treated like waste rather than sentiment beings. The government recommends farmers to use the shooting method to kill the calves (Stacy, 2003). Some of the legislation that is put forward in the UK and EU could constrain the way in which dairy cows are fed, managed and housed. In addition, aspects of genetic selection could be controlled and pressure is likely to be put on milk producers to allow cows have an access to pasture. Cows are housed all year round, in most EU whereas in Ireland cows are at grass six to ten months in a year. Female calves born with an extra teat a condition referred to as supernumerary, the extra teats are removed by use of surgical scissors. Beef Cattle In UK beef is produced from specific cow breeds which include native British breeds, e.g Aberdeen Angus, South Devon and Hereford or continental breeds such as Limousin and Charolais. In 2007 2.6 million cattle were slaughtered in UK. Rearing Beef Cattle This are calves taken from dairy mothers and are fed formula before they start to wean at around six weeks. They are usually sold out to farmers who specialize in beef production. The calves for beef endure painful mutilations imposed to them. Male calves, castration are a common traditional practice. In the UK there are three methods used for castration that are actually very painful. The first one is bloodless castration whereby a rubber ring is used to restrict blood flow to the scrotum at the very first week of life of the calf. The other method is the actual crushing of the spermatic cords and finally surgical castration. Crushing and surgical methods are applied within the first two months of birth. The process is actually very painful and worse still in the UK there is no legal requirement for the use of anesthetic, or requirement for a qualified vet. It’s done locally by the farm owner and hence it’s acute (Mark, 1998). Calves are also dehorned or disbudded at some point in their lives which is also very painful and stressful. Disbudding is the application of a hot metal to the shooting horns of a young calf usually 2 months old. The law does not require the use of an aesthetic even if it is carried within the first week of birth. Dehorning on the other hand is the cutting of off of horns of an older animal using a saw, cutting wire or a shear and cauterizing the exposed blood vessel under the use of an aesthetic required by the law (Thorntorn, 2002). Calves were put in veal crates which are narrow solid sided wooden box which could not allow the calf to turn around or exercise for the 4-6 months they are reared before they are slaughtered. Veal crates were however banned in UK and the EU rules of December 2006, calves should be reared individually or in groups in a place which they can comfortably turn. The rules also require the calves over two weeks of age to be fed with minimum iron and fiber. Some calves may spend up to two months with their mothers before they are sold for fattening and slaughter. Most of beef cows in UK and Europe graze in the field and they are neither fed with synthetic hormones with growth promoters. The meat from five to six months is referred to as veal and is tender and white. It is named so due to the way the calves are reared in veal crate, (closed wooden boxes) The ban of exportation of calves to Europe were imposed by the government as well as veal crate rearing of calves (Webster, 1995). Slaughtering of beef cattle Before cows are slaughtered in the UK, they are first stunned by either electricity or a captive bolt (percussion). They are killed through being made to bleed to death by cutting their neck blood vessels. Percussive stunning involves a captive bolt pistol which penetrates into the head of the animal thus destroying its brain tissues. This leads to loss of consciousness and collapse of the animal (Robert, 1999). However the stunning may fail due to improper positioning due to struggling of the cow. Mis-stunning may cause distress as it implicates that the animal may be still conscious during cutting of the throat. Stunning uses the principle that, the period of unconsciousness caused by stunning should be longer than the period between stunning, sticking (neck cut) as well as the time taken for sticking to cause death (Harmony, 2001). Calves are stunned electrically which involves the passing of a large voltage across the brain of the animal. However according to studies it has been noted that calves takes longer to lose brain function (Mark, 1998). Electric stunning is also causes shorter period of unconsciousness of the calve usually 18 seconds. For this reason, a calf shows signs of recovery during neck cutting. Comparison the two sectors in terms of welfare Both sectors have serious problems with the welfare of the cattle. The welfare of dairy cattle however is the worst hit with many problems and challenges some of which cannot be avoided. Dairy cow are pressurized to produce maximum milk, they are also separated from their calves which stresses them (Thorntorn, 2002). In addition dairy cows have been fed with high protein food, i.e. from herbivores to carnivores feeding in fish meal and other foods to increase production. This poses very high risks to their health and that the major reason for the increase in diseases among dairy cattle in the UK including mastitis, foot and mouth among other diseases. Besides, the straining of these animals to give birth annually destroys their hormonal development which results to early infertility. Dairy cattle suffer the most as they are zero grazed for longer in the UK or throughout the year as they are not required to lose energy by walking around (Webster, 1995). This makes the animal to strain in over production of milk. The dairy cattle are milked twice in a day and produce an average of 22 liters a day in UK and 30 in US. In a natural setting, where the dairy mother would be suckled by her calf, it is supposed to produce only 4 liters in a day. The dairy cow suffer more as after they have been fully exploited for milk production, they are taken for slaughter to produce beef. The beef cattle welfare is a problem especially in rearing. The rearing of calves in veal crates in torture to the animal. Besides the process by which they are castrated to prepare them for meat is painful. The process of slaughtering which falls to all sectors i.e. beef and worn out dairy cows is pitiful. Contribution of the two Sectors to UK economy The UK is the leading producer of milk in Europe and is ranked at position 9 in the world. The milk produced in UK is exported to the rest of the world mostly to EU members. Beef is also a source of income in the UK and these two sectors have employed at 2% of the UK population (Horward, 2003). Organic beef farmers rear their calves for beef in a naturalistic manner where they are allowed to suckle until they start weaning up to 9 months. This reduces stress to the beef cattle. The beef cattle also graze in the field most of the time. Besides their feeds contain 60% fodder, foliage or silage unlike dairy cows which are fed on high protein feeds. Evaluation of animal use in UK In general the animal welfare in the UK has improved with various legislations being put forward to minimize animal cruelty. The soil Association in the UK is a major agent in implementation of animal welfare. It requires dairy farmers to decide to keep all their calves or sell them to organic farmers. The welfare of animals in the UK is improving and one of the major concerns on welfare of animals is free from diseases. Vaccination programs for various diseases for dairy and beef cattle. References Marchant-Forde, J.N., Marchant-Forde, R.M. and Weary, D.M. (2002), Responses of dairy cows and calves to each others vocalizations after early separation. Applied Animal Behavior Science. 78: 19-28. Thorton, P. (2005) Teaching Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law to Veterinary Students in the United Kingdom, Journal of Veterinary Education, 2, 3 34-89. Appleby, M. (2005) The relationship between food prices and animal welfare, Journal of Animal Welfare, 4, 5 90-123. Griffin, A. (2006) Economic Contribution of dairy and beef industry in the UK, Business Journal, 8, 4 56-89. Harmony, S. (2001) Animals Sentimental Aspect, Journal of Animal Husbandry, 8, 6 90-109. Stacy, B. (2003) Thinking about Animals which feed us, Journal of Animal Welfare, 65-121. Brownian, K. (2002), Welfare of Dairy Cattle, (London, Oxford University Press) John, B. and Bernard, R. (2003), The Well Being of Animals: Challenges and Solutions, (Michigan: Michigan University Press) Peter, J. (2000), Beef Practice: Cow-Calf Rearing, (New York: Longhorn Publishers) Jensen, P. (2004), The Ethnology of Domestic Animals: An Introductory Text, (London, Rutledge) Mette, V. (2004), Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Agriculture, (New York, McMillan) Jeffrey, R. et al. (2000), The Welfare of Cattle: A Survey of UK Dairy Sector, (London, McMillan) Webster. J. (1995), Animal Welfare: A Cool Eye Towards Eden, (London: McMillan Publishers) Thorntorn, H. et al. (2002), Ethical Issues in Biotechnology, (New York, New York Press) Michael, W. 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(2003), Economic Importance of the Dairy and Beef Industry in UK, (London, Cambridge University Press) Organic Beef, Soil Association (2000), available on www.soilassociation.org/web/SA/saweb.nsf/ed0930aa86103d8380256aa70054918d/e202354dc28addb580257149004cb427!OpenDocument (retrieved on 15/112008) Vegan Society, The Dairy Cow, (2003), available from www.vegansociety.com/animals/exploitation/cows/dairy_cow.php (retrieved on 15/11/2008) Information also available from: http://www.soilassociation.org/web/SA/saweb.nsf/ed0930aa86103d8380256aa70054918d/e202354dc28addb580257149004cb427!OpenDocument Accessed on 15/11/2008. www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/cattle/booklets/cattcode.pdf Accessed on 15/11/2008. http://www.thebeefsite.com/ Accessed on 15/11/2008. http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/vegetarianism/ALL/477/ Accessed on 15/11/2008 http://www.ukagriculture.com/production_cycles/dairy_production_cycle.cfm Accessed on 15/11/2008 Read More