Hell on earth.

It's hell on earth for the cows at the Ibaraki Prefectural Livestock Research Center (IPLRC), a publicly funded facility in Japan where cows are research topics for the dairy and Wagyu beef industries.

A PETA Asia investigation shows employees burning the heads of calves with irons, kicking and slapping cows, hitting them with metal tools, and more.

Filmed in flagrante delicto

The head of a calf burned with an iron

A whistleblower filmed shocking footage for three months in 2022 and let the world know what's going on in Japan's dairy and meat industries. The shocking footage shows workers burning a calf's head with a white-hot iron to remove tissue from its horns as the animal screams, eyes wide open, visibly terrified and struggling under the weight of one of the employees.

Terrified cows are punched, kicked and slapped

Footage also shows several men sitting on top of a disbudded calf, which appears to be defecating in fear. Employees are also seen punching cows in the chest, slapping and kicking them, and trampling on their legs and backs. In another incident, workers hit the cows on their sensitive udders and in the face with wooden sticks, presumably in an attempt to move them.

Funded by public money

Compassionate people in Japan are outraged to learn that their money is being used to fund such abuse. The IPLRC received more than 900 million yen (6.2 million euros) from taxpayers and public funds in one year, according to the most recent data available. In response, PETA Asia sent a complaint to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to request the removal of funding for the IPLRC, as well as a request to the Ibaraki Prefecture to carry out a audit on funding that supports animal cruelty. PETA entities are also inviting the public to change their consumption and switch to vegan meat as well as vegetable milk, because abandoning meat and dairy products would redirect funding away from farms and structures such as this infernal center.

The harsh reality of the dairy and meat industries

When given the opportunity, cows are caring parents who develop strong relationships with friends and family. But most cows in the dairy and meat industries are confined to intensive farming, and therefore prevented from meeting their basic needs like caring for their calves, which are taken from them soon after birth.

Most cows are born with tissue that will later develop into horns, but many breeders remove this sensitive tissue or the horns themselves using hot iron, caustic chemicals, sharp metal shovels, blades or of saws. These painful procedures are often performed without painkillers.

Help the cows – ditch meat and dairy

The abuse documented in this structure is not unique to Japan: the dairy and meat industries are inherently cruel all over the world. Cows will continue to be exploited in farms and research centers like the IPLRC until humans stop stealing their milk and eating their flesh. Going vegan is the only way to spare these animals pain and suffering.

Pledge to stop supporting this abuse by going vegan for 30 days:

DROP THE MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS

Source : PETA France