The average lifespan of UK dairy cows has fallen to under 6 years despite biological potential of 20+ years, with welfare implications for millions of animals culled prematurely.
The high culling rate of dairy cows reflects chronic welfare problems that make continued production impractical rather than genuine end-of-life decisions. Cows are culled not when their life is complete but when disease or reproductive failure has made their continued use economically unviable. This means that the welfare problems that drove culling - lameness, mastitis, metabolic disease - were experienced as suffering before the culling decision was made.