A look inside India’s dairy farms: Filth, suffering, and hidden dangers
Animal Equality has released findings from a new investigation conducted in 2025 in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra. The study covered 27 dairy farms and three markets in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra. Evidence gathered reveals widespread violations of animal welfare and food safety laws.
A cruel trick
On every farm our team visited, calves were taken away from their mothers moments after birth. We heard their cries echo through the sheds, high-pitched calls for the mothers they would never nurse from again. The mothers bellowed in distress, pulling against their ropes, searching for their babies.
In one of the most disturbing findings, workers stuffed the bodies of dead calves with hay to trick grieving mothers into continuing to produce milk.
Neglect and suffering
Many animals were found sick and injured, but received no medical attention. Reproduction in the dairy industry is no longer natural: artificial insemination is used repeatedly, year after year, until the mother’s body can no longer endure the strain.
Investigators witnessed deliberate abuse. Workers hit and forced animals onto vehicles, showing complete disregard for their pain and fear.
A silent health threat
Without veterinary supervision, farm owners routinely injected animals with medications, not to treat illness, but to force their bodies to produce milk.
“Separating a calf from its mother causes the mother to withhold milk. Farmers then inject oxytocin to force contractions and release the milk, causing the animal severe pain” – Amruta Ubale, Executive Director of Animal Equality
For the animals, oxytocin induces intense labour-like pains, damages reproductive organs, and shortens their lives. And in consumers it may lead to early puberty in girls, gynecomastia in boys, and vision or hearing problems in children. Pregnant women risk miscarriage, birth defects, low infant immunity, and postpartum bleeding from its consumption.
Filth in every drop
Cows stood in ankle-deep waste. Buckets of milk sat uncovered in the same area infested with flies. None of the dairies had adequate cleaning or sanitation procedures.
This is the same milk that ends up in paneer, tea, cheese and sweets across India and through exported products.
A call for change
Animal Equality has been investigating dairy farms in India since 2014. Each time, our team has uncovered the same problems: neglected animals, rampant violations of animal welfare laws, and serious threats to food safety.
This is why our team in India is urging the Government of India to introduce stricter enforcement measures and deter non-compliances on farms.
Likewise, here in the UK, we have uncovered egregious legal breaches time and again on pig, chicken, cow, and fish farms. The UK Government’s recently-published Animal Welfare Strategy acknowledges that on-farm enforcement is a problem that must be tackled, which is a positive first step, but now we need those words to become actions!
We are calling for farms to be licensed, to ensure increased inspections, oversight, and sanctions when illegality is detected, and we are calling for more on-farm data to be made available for public scrutiny.
And, it’s important to remember, the dairy industry thrives on keeping this cruelty out of public sight. But behind every glass of milk is a life of confinement, separation, and suffering. For the sake of both animals and people, it’s time for change.
Dairy production all around the world is built on the exploitation of mothers and their young. By choosing plant-based alternatives, we can reduce this suffering and help create a food system that is kinder, safer, and more sustainable.
Protect cows and calves
Every day mother cows are separated from their newborn calves, just so milk can appear on the shelves of supermarkets. Protect cows by choosing plant-based dairy alternatives.
