Commercial dairy cows are culled at an average of only 2.5 lactations when their natural lifespan exceeds 20 years, representing a significant welfare failure.
Early culling of dairy cows is both a symptom and a driver of poor welfare. Health problems that make cows uneconomical to keep cause suffering throughout the lactation before culling. Systems that reduce disease through better management and genetics extend productive lives while improving welfare. The relationship between longevity and welfare is strong because long-lived cows are by definition those that have avoided the most serious welfare problems.