Dairy cows are increasingly culled at young ages due to reproductive problems and mastitis, representing both a welfare failure and an economic signal of unsustainable production intensity.
Early culling of dairy cows reflects the cumulative welfare burden of high-production intensive systems. Cows pushed to peak yields through genetic selection and nutritional management experience accelerated metabolic wear, reproductive failure, and lameness that makes them unprofitable before reaching old age. The journey to slaughter — involving transport stress, lairage, and slaughter — adds a final welfare insult to animals already depleted by production demands. Farms with longer cow productive lives demonstrate that lower-intensity production with better welfare management is economically viable while reducing the chronic welfare burden that drives early culling.