Why do they raise veal in the dark

Calves destined to become veal spend most of their to week lives confined to small wooden or metal cages known as veal crates. This crate is barely larger than the calf's body and too small for the animal to turn around. Calves are also sometimes tethered so that they don't move around too much, which keeps the flesh tender. Fortunately, veal crates have been banned in some states including California, Arizona, and Maine.

Bob veal and slink veal come from newborn calves which were just a few days or weeks old at slaughter. Slink and slink veal comes from unborn, premature, or stillborn calves. Unborn calves are sometimes found when an adult cow is slaughtered and happens to be pregnant at the time of slaughter. Meat from unborn calves is now illegal for human consumption in the U.

As crates are being phased out, bob veal is gaining in popularity. Without the confinement of a crate, the calves move around and their muscles toughen. Because the calves slaughtered for bob veal are so young, their muscles have not yet developed and are very tender, which is considered desirable. Some farmers now offer "humane veal," meaning meat from calves that are raised without veal crates. While this addresses some people's concerns about veal, animal advocates tend to believe that "humane veal" is an oxymoron.

From an animal rights perspective, it doesn't matter how much room the calves have before they are slaughtered—they're still slaughtered!

The animal rights goal is not to give the calves more room or to feed them a more natural diet, but for people to stop eating these meats altogether and switch to a vegan lifestyle.

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Veal crates were individual pens without enough room for the calves to turn round, lie down properly, or even groom themselves. How is veal kept in the UK? It is common practice in the UK for calves to be kept indoors but in well-bedded, open-sided barns lit by natural daylight. These barns allow for the circulation of fresh air and views of the outside world while at the same time protecting the calves from the elements.

Why is veal cruel? In the EU - but not the UK - veal calves are usually kept in closed barns with slatted floors, without bedding and with little or no fibre in their diet. Why is veal white? White veal is not produced in the UK. White veal comes from calves, on the continent, which were slaughtered before eight months of age, usually between 20 and 24 weeks of age. During this time their diets consist of fortified milk and solids, with very little fibre and low in iron.

Does veal see daylight? In the UK, calves are often kept indoors but in open-sided barns. These barns are well lit by natural daylight and the open sides allow the circulation of fresh air and permit the animals to look outside.

Are calves still exported to the continent for veal? Yes, male dairy calves can legally be transported as young as 14 days old. Research has shown that calves under four weeks old struggle to adapt to the live transport process and can suffer higher levels of illness and death following transport. Indications of stress, like showing more whites in their eyes, will be present after such separations. In short, the animals suffer greatly from the practice of separation, the first major cruelty perpetrated in the manufacture of veal.

Calves separated from their mothers and the herd will exhibit abnormal behaviors This is in part due to their being raised in isolation, without gaining any benefits from socializing, and also because of the conditions, they are kept in. Cows raised in isolation, typical on those farms which still use veal crates, will exhibit a large range of abnormal behaviors including bar biting, tongue rolling, and excessive resting.

These repetitive behaviors, called stereotypies, are indicators of mental anguish and poor welfare standards. Veal calves tend to be fed a milk substitute that contains insufficient amounts of nutrients, and particularly lacks iron. This leads to abnormal gut development in the animals, as their insufficient diet causes them to have chronic diarrhea.

The lack of iron also causes the calves to suffer from anemia, which gives the animals their prized white flesh whilst making the calves lethargic, weak and unwell. Comprehensive scientific evidence shows that calves experience significant stress when handled and transported, particularly over long distances.

Young calves are badly adapted to long journeys due to their underdeveloped immune and stress response systems. Long transport journeys for calves can result in anywhere between 1 and 23 percent mortality in a given group, from factors like diarrhea, exhaustion, and exposure to heat or cold.

Over 1 million veal calves are transported around Europe each year, and even a high-welfare country like the U. In one study of Swiss dairy and veal farmers, no bedding was provided for any of the calves transported over long distances, even though this was mandated by law.

The handling of calves before transport is one of the key factors underpinning how they fare on the subsequent trip. Calves are often handled very roughly and many cases of young calves being punched, kicked, and abused by farmworkers are on record. Whether young calves are destined to become veal, pet food, or kebab meat, their presence in a system that treats them as commodities who only possess value when the dead will always put them at risk of violence and unnecessary abuse.

Veal calves are given large quantities of drugs because they tend to live highly stressful lives, due to the way that their handling and rearing harshly impacts their underdeveloped bodies and psyches. Veal calves, because of their stressed lives, are highly susceptible to microbial infection , like most animals raised in industrial farming. Their immune systems tend to be weakened due to their youth, their rough treatment and transportation, their living conditions, and their insufficiently nutritious diet.

Even in countries where veal crates are illegal , as the U. There are still cages used in U. Additionally, in group or barn systems welfare can still be very poor: absence of bedding has been reported in Dutch farms, where the exposed slatted floors give calves lameness and other foot injuries.

The EU space allowance is also 60 percent that of the U. Veal crates remain legal in the U. The suffering that veal calves feel as a result of isolation is exacerbated by the intense boredom and restlessness they experience in their tiny 0.

This creates the tender meat valued by consumers. The stressful lives of veal calves lead to a greater susceptibility to infection and disease, and as a result, they tend to be treated extensively with antibiotics. They are treated with more antibiotics than pigs or poultry, which is a cause for concern due to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As the veal sector is one of the biggest per-capita offenders, its contribution to this serious medical issue deserves careful evaluation.

Veal is not one of the most popular meats in the world.