Intelligent and social
Cows are social animals that form relationships within their herd. They seek closeness, recognise one another and feel safer around familiar animals.
About animal species
Cows are intelligent, social and full of emotion.
Cows recognise one another, form friendships and remember faces, places and experiences. They care lovingly for their calves and, like us, seek safety, peace and connection.
About cows.
A good memory
Cows remember people, places and experiences. What happens to them can leave a lasting impression — positive, but also painful or frightening.
Love for their calves
A cow cares for her calf with attention and affection. The bond between mother and calf is strong and important both physically and emotionally.
The harsh contrast.
What they need
Cows want to graze, rest, play, connect with their herd and care for their calves. They need room to move, safety to relax and a life that suits who they are.
In the animal industry
Artificial insemination, separation from their calf, physical interventions, repeated pregnancies, the strain of milking and ultimately a violent end when they no longer produce enough.
Natural lifespan
20 years
Dairy cows
5 years
Cattle raised for beef
18 months
Calves raised for meat
7 months
Images from the animal industry.
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Artificially inseminated
She often becomes a mother not by choice, but as part of a production system.
Separated after one day
Although mother and calf naturally seek closeness, they are separated very early.
Horns burned off
A sensitive part of her body is removed to make her fit more easily into the system.
Exhausted by pregnancies
Her body is repeatedly put under strain to keep milk production going.
The strain of milking
Her milk is treated not as food for her calf, but as a product for people.
Poor conditions
Space, rest, fresh air and natural behaviour are often restricted in the name of production and efficiency.
No longer producing enough milk
When her body no longer produces enough, she loses her value within the system.
A violent end
At the slaughterhouse she is killed, her body cut open and chopped into pieces.
This has to stop.
The number of cows we kill every year is almost impossible to comprehend. Yet every one of them is an individual, with their own personality, emotions, unique experience of the world and desire to live.
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An estimate of the number of cows killed worldwide since you opened this page. This estimate is based on figures of around 300 million cows killed each year
(Our World in Data).
Protect cows.
Cows are living beings: intelligent, social, caring and sensitive. When we see who they really are, it becomes difficult to reduce their lives to milk, meat or a number in a system. Let’s leave these beautiful animals in peace by choosing plant-based.
Get startedPhotography credits
- “Artificially inseminated”: Harvva Zorlu / We Animals Media.
- “Separated after one day” and calves in the animal industry: Harvva Zorlu / We Animals Media.
- “Horns burned off”: credits to be added.
- “Exhausted by pregnancies”: credits to be added.
- “The strain of milking”: Andrew Skowron / We Animals Media.
- “Poor conditions”: Harvva Zorlu / We Animals Media.
- “No longer producing enough milk” and dairy cows in the animal industry: Dario Endara / We Animals Media.
- “A violent end” and cattle raised for beef in the animal industry: Jo-Anne McArthur / Eyes On Animals / We Animals Media.