Behind Closed Doors: The UK's Dairy Industry
With around 1.9 million cows living on 13,000 farms, the UK is one of Europe's highest milk producers. 2,000 of these farms are “zero-grazed”, which means the cows are kept permanently inside sheds.
Despite warnings from animal welfare and environmental advocates, the number of intensive dairy farms are increasing in the UK as farmers face increased pressure to maximise production while keeping costs to a minimum.
Campaigners argue that the acceleration of intensive farming is driving climate change, water and air pollution, biodiversity loss, and negatively affecting local communities. Animal rights investigators also say that the dairy industry is depriving cows of their basic needs while misleading consumers into believing that their milk comes from animals able to graze and roam freely. To uphold this myth, dairy farms are often difficult to access, meaning that investigators are only able to document the conditions undercover, typically at night.
This photo series was taken on multiple visits alongside investigators from the advocacy group Viva! to one of the UK’s leading dairy facilities, which supplies a host of Britain’s best-known companies, including McDonald’s, British Airways, and Costa Coffee. This farm is Red Tractor-approved, which is considered the world’s leading assurance for animal welfare.
