Breaking Investigation: Animal Equality uncovers abuse at dairy farms in Spain
Animal Equality investigators have uncovered abuse on 11 dairy farms in northern Spain.
From November 2023 to February 2024, investigators documented routine cruelty behind Spain’s dairy industry. Cows were chained by their noses, shocked with electric prods, and separated from their newborn calves just moments after birth.
Calves were force-fed through tubes and restrained by metal nose rings. They cried out for their mothers after being ripped from each other.
➡️ Explore the full investigation and take action: https://animalequality.org/news/2025/06/10/inside-spain-dairy-industry/.
You have the power to help end the cycle of suffering.
Discover delicious dairy-free recipes from eight countries in Animal Equality’s free global cookbook!
� Tour the world—one compassionate, plant-based dish at a time: https://ae.onl/loveveg-organicvimeo.
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Transcript (English — en)
Animal Equality’s team in Spain has
gone undercover to expose dairy.
The evidence reveals the harsh
realities of cows on eleven
dairy farms across the country.
This is what the industry
doesn’t want you to see.
In Spain,
800,000 cows are exploited
for dairy.
The industry
is primarily concentrated
in the northern regions of Galicia,
Asturias, and Cantabria.
Cows are treated
as milk-producing machines.
The farms find new ways
to extract every last drop
from the animals.
In every facility
investigated, cows
are artificially inseminated.
Most of the time, farmers
use specific semen to produce
female calves.
They are destined for the same role
as their mothers.
Calves
are torn away from their mothers
immediately after birth.
Farms do this to preserve milk
for human
consumption.
Distressed by the forced
separation, mothers
cry out for their babies.
Some can be heard bellowing
for their calves for days.
This is the
brutal cycle
cows endure in the dairy industry:
forced impregnation, separation
at birth,
and relentless milking.
After being separated,
calves
are confined to individual pens.
They are fed milk substitutes
instead of the milk
intended for them.
Male calves are considered
useless to the industry
and are slaughtered.
Female
calves are raised to replace cows
whose milk production declines.
The milking frequency varies
between farms.
Some cows are milked
as often as three times
a day.
Nearly
30% of cows in Spain
suffer from painful infections
caused by excessive milking,
poor hygiene,
or udder injuries.
After giving birth
and enduring over
two months of intensive milking,
they are impregnated again.
At one of the farms,
cows were restricted
from moving by electrified devices.
The metal bar is positioned
over their backs,
delivering
electric shocks when touched.
Another common method of
control is chaining cows
tightly by the neck.
They are unable to do anything
but eat.
If a cow tries to sit down,
the workers will force her
back on her feet.
Due to unsanitary conditions
and the inability to move, cows
suffer from infections,
hoof inflammation,
fractures, and joint problems.
These issues
lead to their slaughter.
Lameness is one of the most common
afflictions in cows used for dairy.
In Spain, up to 55% of
cows are affected.
We also documented
the use of electric prods
to control cows
during hoof trimming—an indication
of the stressful
and forceful handling they endure.
Slaughter is the inevitable fate
for animals in the dairy industry.
Their lives are defined
by how many times
they can give birth-typically three
to four times.
In the wild,
cows could live up to 25 years.
In the industry,
she will be sent to slaughter
between the ages of four and six.
The dairy industry doesn’t
want you to know this reality.
Millions of people around the world
are already choosing plant-based
milk alternatives
after learning about the cruelty
endured by cows.
You can be part of this change too.
You have the power to end this
abuse.