Half of dairy cows show heat stress and mastitis; animal welfare group calls for dairy cow welfare regulations

Delicious fresh milk cannot be ensured just by focusing on direct delivery from small farms; the rearing conditions of dairy cows must not be overlooked either! The Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) held a press conference today (the 18th), stating that after nearly a year of visiting and inspecting 30 dairy farms, it found that more than 50% of dairy cow rearing operations in Taiwan, China, have five major problems, including "negative energy balance," "heat stress," "disease infection," "human interference" and "insufficient professional care." These not only affect the physical and mental health of the animals, but also further affect milk quality.

The animal welfare group put forward three demands, including "formulating animal welfare regulations," "formulating animal welfare policies for milk procurement" and "disclosing dairy inspection information," calling on the government and industry to upgrade the domestic dairy cow rearing industry. Fang Qingquan, secretary-general of the Republic of China Dairy Association, responded that the problems raised by the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are "a small number of individual cases," and said that these problems should indeed be solved, but that the industry as a whole is already moving in a good direction, and he looks forward to further dialogue with all parties in the future.