More Than Half Of Brits Unaware Cows Must Be Impregnated To Produce Milk, Survey Finds

More than half of Brits are unaware that cows must be impregnated each year in order to produce milk, a new survey has found.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by animal rights group Animal Justice Project (AJP), found that 52 percent of the public was unaware that “cows are impregnated annually to enable milk production.” According to AJP, this survey highlights “a societal ignorance of the fundamental link between pregnancy and milk production.” Cows, like humans, are mammals who produce milk to feed their young. These findings build on a separate 2021 survey from charity Viva! that found that 59 percent of Brits don’t know cows must give birth to produce milk.

Elsewhere in the AJP survey, 83 percent of respondents were not aware that calves were removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. This is standard practice in farms, so humans can take the milk intended for them. Despite having a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, dairy cows are typically slaughtered when they are between five and seven years old, but only 82 percent of people were aware of this.

“In 2025, it is absurd that most people still don’t realise that, just like humans, cows must be pregnant to lactate,” said AJP founder Claire Palmer. “But it’s also no surprise, given the systematic disinformation the dairy industry has spread for decades.”

A hidden industry

A calf in solitary confinement on a dairy farm — Animal Justice Project Calves will often be kept in solitary confinement after being taken from their mothers

The vast majority of the UK consumes dairy products. But the reality of the industry has been well-hidden from the public. Children’s books often depict dairy cows in green fields being milked by smiling farmers, and industry marketing uses terms like “high welfare” and “humane” without giving any details about what actually happens to cows on farms.

When they are around 15 months old, dairy cows are impregnated through artificial insemination for the first time. After they give birth, their calf will be taken from them within hours. Cows form powerful bonds with their babies just like humans do, and they often cry out and bellow for days after they’re gone. If the calf is female, she will be put in solitary confinement and eventually raised for dairy too. If the calf is male, he may be killed or sold for meat. Lactating mothers are often hooked up to milking machines and milked regularly before they’re ready to be made pregnant again. This cycle will continue until her milk dries up, at which point she’ll be killed for low-grade beef.

Multiple investigations have uncovered huge suffering on dairy farms, including cows being hit by workers, having their legs shackled, and being subjected to extreme temperatures. According to the AJP survey, only 17 percent of people agree that dairy companies provide consumers with enough information about how dairy is produced.

AJP commissioned the survey to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on Saturday, March 8, and the charity is urging the public to remember that “cows are mothers too.”

“Like human mothers, they love their babies immensely,” said Palmer. “The suffering they endure when those calves are torn away within hours of birth is unimaginable. We don’t need to consume milk – but baby cows do. It’s made for them, not us.”