Dairy farming in the UK

Herds of grazing cattle have shaped the British countryside for centuries. Unlike many other countries, cows in fields are still a regular sight in the UK. 

But in recent years, dairy cows’ access to pasture has started to decrease as an under resourced dairy industry looks to fix its problems by switching to industrial-scale farming.

As the future of conventional UK dairy farming faces hangs in the balance, WSPA’s ‘Not In My Cuppa' campaign calls for cow welfare to stay top of the agenda by saying no to factory farmed milk.

The changing shape of dairy farms

There are currently over 11,000 small and medium-sized farms in the UK. Most have an average herd size of about 113 animals, and farms with more than 200 cows are rare.

The animals are usually able to graze and move around in small, regular groups which suit their sociable nature and help to manage livestock stress levels.

Compare this against industrial-scale indoor dairy factories in the United States that can house up to 15,000 cows. Milked around the clock with little or no access to pasture and plagued by illness, the welfare of ‘battery cows’ is a far cry from our impression of dairy farming in the UK.

But ‘mega-dairies’ like these may be closer than we think, with two planning applications for industrial-scale dairy operations in the UK already submitted this year.

What is intensive dairy farming?

Over the past forty years, cows have been selectively bred to provide as much milk as possible. Although their natural lifespan is 15 – 20 years, most dairy cows are culled at around six.

For the vast numbers of exhausted cows crammed inside US-style ‘mega-dairies’, health problems like mastitis, lameness and infertility are common. Unable to move around freely, their natural behaviour is restricted making them stressed and aggressive.

A poor deal for farmers and the environment

Competitive supermarket pricing and the centralised way we buy our food is pushing two dairy farmers out of business every week. In an industry that values volume of milk output above anything else, many farmers are unwilling to put sentient animals at the heart of such an intensive system. Industrial dairy farming also carries a huge environmental cost, putting a huge strain on the climate, water supply and public health.

‘Not In My Cuppa’

Currently just three companies supply British milk to the supermarkets. This means that if ‘mega-dairies’ go ahead, factory milk could end up in each pint we buy.

Failing to act now may subject thousands of dairy cows to a short, miserable life, with little meaningful benefit to farmers and a potentially devastating impact on the environment.

WSPA’s ‘Not In My Cuppa’ campaign is a platform for the British public to stop factory-produced milk before it is too late.