Lowfields Farm, an award-winning non-stop 24-hour mega dairy, never ceases to inflict extreme violence on cows

We sent a covert investigator to work on the Red Tractor Assured farm, and they witnessed continuous and unrelenting acts of cruelty.

Lowfields Farm, located in North Yorkshire, is a massive industrial zero-grazing dairy farm. At any one time there are 2,400 cows trapped on the farm. They are milked to produce a staggering 273,000 litres of milk a week, which equates to 1,365,000 glasses. Lowfields Farm supplies Arla and Aldi. Arla supplies major supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, and the coffee chain Starbucks. 

Over the course of several weeks, our undercover worker captured shocking scenes of violence and cruelty. Cows were ruthlessly beaten by the Arla workers, who used pipes, ropes, pliers, and their bare hands in blatant and repeated acts of abuse.

"I do care about them, I love all my cows" - Manager at Lowfields Farm

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Lowfields Farm is a typical Arla farm that reflects the UK dairy industry

Mother cows were kicked just moments after giving birth, and their newborn calves were subjected to the same heartless cruelty. The bond between mother and baby was shattered as the calves were taken away. The mothers were left to endure the agony of separation, forced to watch helplessly as their scared babies were taken from them. As the results of our YouGov survey demonstrated, 83% of Brits were unaware that cows and calves are separated shortly after birth.

Like their mothers, the calves faced relentless mistreatment. They were slapped and yanked by their ears. Painful procedures, like ear tagging and ‘disbudding’ (preventing their horns from growing) were inflicted on the young calves, leaving them distressed, in pain and with bloody wounds. Those calves who survived the critical first weeks were illegally confined to single pens for up to nine weeks, deprived of any opportunity to run, play or be with their mothers or other calves.

Calves were force-fed a synthetic milk replacer, but many could not survive without their mothers. Dead calves were treated with shocking disregard, their lifeless bodies piled like trash in full view of the adult cows. In one instance, a dead calf was left on the floor for over 29 hours, a haunting sight for the soon-to-be mothers nearby. Adding to the horror, the Hurworth Hunt collected the carcasses to feed to their fox-hunting hounds.

Lame and injured cows were electrically goaded

Despite the regular presence of hoof trimmers at the farm, lameness persisted at a severe and chronic level at Lowfields. At least 77 cows were visibly suffering from debilitating pain and mobility issues throughout the investigation. These lame and injured cows were left to hobble around the farm, struggling in the squalid and slippery conditions. These vulnerable animals became deliberate targets for the workers, as their slower movements singled them out and attracted their frustration and anger.

“On a large dairy farm such as this, there will be events where the routine handling and movement of cows will be challenging. However, there is little that could be said in mitigation of the events shown in this video. The repeated and unconstrained use of sticks and electric goads is gratuitous and excessive. This is particularly notable during the loading of cows onto a cattle transporter...A number of the events shown may constitute an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and should be investigated by the regulator. That these events occurred on a farm contracted to a dairy processing company holding itself as an exemplar represents a serious failure of training, management and supervision." - Alick Simmons, Former UK Government Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer and Former Food Standards Agency Veterinary Director

Drivers, collecting the cows to be slaughtered or transported to another farm, demonstrated a blatant disregard for the cows' rights and viciously used electric goads on their faces, necks and sides to force them onto lorries. One severely injured cow, visibly emaciated and struggling to walk, faced callous treatment. Despite her evident distress, she was shocked with the goad 40 times because her injuries prevented her from climbing the steep ramp into the slaughter truck. The workers jabbed her rear with the goad and forcefully struck her neck with a collar. With no escape, she was driven up the ramp, limping and in agonising pain.

The repeated acts of violence and negligence at Lowfields Farm constitute multiple breaches of animal welfare laws, including the Animal Welfare Act 2006, DEFRA regulations, and various industry standards such as Red Tractor highlighting the inability of the industry to even live up its own standards.

“The deliberate cruelty shown in the footage my client gathered is nothing short of shocking. Is it the case that the laws that protect animals are not taken seriously? This is supported by the Animal Sentience Committee, which released a report last week that confirmed that the enforcement of laws that protect farmed animals is lacking. This is unacceptable, animals must receive the legal protections they are entitled to" - Edie Bowles, Solicitor, Advocates for Animals

Utter Abuse, Udder Abuse

Arla workers subjected the cows to relentless violence daily. Despite the sensitivity of a cow's udder, they were targeted in particular. We captured workers delivering hard kicks, powerful slaps, and forceful blows directly to the cows' udders. One cow was slapped on her udder 14 times in quick succession while two workers laughed at her pain.

A worker was caught on video kicking cows in their udders on four separate occasions and kicking another cow forcefully in the abdomen. It appeared to be a routine practice to slap and hit the cows on their udders to make them move, even when they were swollen and full of milk. On several occasions, a worker used a hosepipe to whip a cow on her udder and legs. 

Due to the intense milking procedures, many cows suffered from deep cuts or severe infections,  This was made worse by the rough handling and filthy conditions on the farm. Many teats were covered in faeces and dirt. The cows were only given a brief clean with an udder cleaner and were otherwise milked as usual without any further treatment or care. One cow bled profusely from the tail due to an injury, but workers carried on milking her as normal. 

"The size of the herd, it's not a farm any more, it's a business, it's a manufacturing business. We are manufacturing and selling milk and cows" - Manager at Lowfields Farm

Milk from farms like Lowfields finds its way into every Arla product and every sip of Starbucks coffee in the UK. Behind these company names lies a grim reality of unimaginable suffering for the cows and their calves.

Cows attempted to escape from the violent workers

Resisting their cruel treatment and the separation from their calves, a group of cows made a desperate attempt to break free from the violent workers. In the confines of a zero-grazing system, these animals are denied the freedom to go outside. For the first time, this group experienced a fleeting moment of life on their terms. But their escape was short-lived. The cows were quickly rounded up, and their punishment was severe. One cow had rocks hurled at her as she tried to evade the worker. Once recaptured, she was beaten in the yard, enduring seven blows from the angry worker.

Throughout the investigation, multiple escape attempts were filmed. In one instance, a panicked cow, driven by desperation, fell into the birthing pen while trying to flee from the workers. Her punishment was swift and merciless, and she was beaten repeatedly with a pipe. The commotion terrified the heavily pregnant mothers, some of whom collapsed to the ground in fear.

These cows deserve lives of freedom, not servitude and suffering. Their bodies have been exploited and broken by this industry, and they deserve justice.

What can you do to help cows? 

There are many ways we can help our fellow animals. The first is by changing your diet and no longer causing such heartbreak.

Recent research by the Vegan Society indicates that there is a growing shift towards a plant-based diet, with 10% of the population reducing or eliminating ‘animal products’ in some way. As this shift continues to grow, more and more people are choosing vegan and leaving cruel products off their plate. You can help the cows by doing the same.

You can also sign our petition demanding that Starbucks use oat milk as a default. Currently, all the cow's milk in their stores comes from Arla farms like Lowfields.

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