2.6 million cattle were killed for meat in the UK in 2008.¹  Cattle raised for meat come from two sources, either from animals bred specifically to produce calves for meat production, or the surplus calves created by the dairy industry.  It is estimated that around 50% of UK beef is produced from surplus dairy calves.²

Milk producing cows are made to produce a calf every year, in order to keep their milk production levels high enough to be profitable.  Some of the female calves will be kept as replacement milk cows, but the question of how to dispose of the remainder is currently a major issue for the industry.  In the past many calves would be exported for veal, usually to be raised in systems which have been banned in the UK on animal welfare grounds.  Only a small number of calves are now exported from the UK, partly due to an export ban due to fears over bovine TB and also demand being much lower than previously after the lifting of the BSE-era export ban in 2006.³   

As dairy cattle are bred to produce high milk yields rather than meat, purebred dairy calves are sometimes considered too scrawny to be worth raising for meat.  Calves considered ‘useless’ are likely to be shot at birth.  Between June 2008 and May 2009 an estimated 118,000 male dairy calves were killed shortly after birth.³

The dairy industry, encouraged by supermarkets, is currently looking at ways to get more dairy calves raised and killed for meat within the UK meat industry. ³  Several animal welfare groups are currently proposing that the answer to the dairy industry’s problem of surplus calves is to encourage consumers to eat British veal.³  The milk industry is therefore supplying the meat industry with a significant proportion of its raw materials. 

Some pure bred beef cattle are being bred to be so muscular (and therefore ‘produce’ more meat) that the breeding cows are unable to give birth and their calves must be delivered by Caesarean section.  In effect, cattle are being bred who are unable to reproduce naturally, for the sake of profit.⁴

Meat cattle may live outdoors, kept indoors on slatted floors with no bedding, or kept inside during winter. American style feedlots (which are basically battery farming for dairy cows) are gradually being brought in to the UK’s system.⁵ Indoor cattle may be tethered to prevent them from moving.  The calves may be subjected to castration and dehorning, and calves with too many teats may have the extra ones chopped off with scissors.⁶

They will usually be allowed to live for 1-2 years, of a natural lifespan of 25.  Cattle are usually slaughtered by first being stunned with a captive bolt, then being hung up by a back leg and bled to death (sometimes cattle are both stunned and killed electrically).  Stunning is not always adequate. The animals may face distress and injury from the inadequate or inappropriate restraints and pens. There is potentially “very significant pain and distress” from the slaughter methods.⁷