Separated from newborn calves. Viciously beaten. Dragged around by tractors... How cows that produce your daily pint of milk are really treated

As the largest supplier of milk to UK supermarkets, multi-billion-pound dairy conglomerate Arla Foods is keen to maintain its reputation for ‘holistic’ farming that puts animal welfare first.Its corporate website boasts glossy images of contented cows grazing in verdant meadows, accompanied by assurances of ‘clean and comfortable resting areas’, outdoor spaces, waterbeds and automated cow brushes – ‘because sometimes a good scratch hits the spot’.But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that workers at some of its 2,400 British farms have been filmed kicking cows as they lie helpless on the ground, dragging them across concrete floors with farm vehicles, and forcing them to sleep in straw caked with urine and faeces.Harrowing footage obtained by this newspaper also shows farmhands tearing a newborn calf from its mother just 25 minutes after birth, a fraction of the 24 hours recommended by the Government.Other sickening clips show workers urinating in cow pens and marching them to milking parlours in metal shackles.In one distressing scene, two workers take turns with a heavy pair of bolt cutters in a clumsy attempt to snap a metal screw protruding from a cow’s eyelid as she flinches. Arla's website boasts glossy images of contented cows grazing in verdant meadows, accompanied by assurances of ‘clean and comfortable resting areas’, outdoor spaces, waterbeds and automated cow brushes – ‘because sometimes a good scratch hits the spot’ Sickening footage shows one helpless cow being hoisted by its hips Another clip shows one employee bellowing ‘I hate cows, f*** it, I hate you’ as he kicks a cow before painfully twisting her tail.Other damning footage covertly filmed across the farms shows:Young children kicking and punching lame cows in cattle pens;Terrified cows recoiling as they are hit with gates and farm equipment;A dead calf left in a wheelbarrow for three nights;A malnourished cow left for 31 hours without water.Independent experts who reviewed the evidence from a year-long undercover investigation into 15 Arla farms – some of which supply Tesco, Morrisons and Starbucks – identified 360 potential breaches of animal welfare law. They warned that the failures were systemic, with the same problems appearing at multiple Arla farms.Arla launched an immediate investigation after being shown the footage.A spokesman said: ‘Animal welfare is of the utmost importance to us, and we take all reports and concerns seriously. We have therefore launched an urgent investigation.’A spokesman for Morrisons said: ‘We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all of our suppliers to operate to the high standards that we and our customers demand.‘This footage is deeply concerning. Arla is undertaking an urgent investigation and we will take all necessary action once we have the findings.’A Starbucks spokesman said: ‘The footage shows treatment of animals which is deeply concerning and falls far short of the high standards of animal welfare we expect to be upheld across our supply chain.‘We support Arla’s decision to open an immediate investigation and will remain in close contact as it takes appropriate action.’Denmark-based Arla Foods is a multinational cooperative owned by around 11,200 farmers across seven countries. The Animal Justice Project has exposed how dairy cows have their hooves chained The highest number of potential breaches was recorded at a family-run farm also called Longlands, in Derbyshire, including a malnourished cow who went 31 hours without waterIts British subsidiary produces three billion litres of milk annually from around 2,400 farms and turns over more than £2billion a year – making it the UK’s largest dairy company. Campaign group the Animal Justice Project installed hidden cameras in barns as part of a probe into Arla, which began after whistleblowers and members of the public approached it with concerns about the cows’ welfare.Its findings appear at odds with the standards Arla sets its farmers in its Arlagarden programme, which include more than 100 rules to protect animal welfare and milk quality.The guidance, which it insists goes beyond what the law requires, says animals must be fed, watered and looked after so that their needs are ‘fully met’, and that any which are sick or failing to thrive ‘must be treated accordingly’.In addition, the farms must also follow national legislation and Red Tractor rules.Some of the worst breaches were documented on two Dorset farms owned by Arla director George Holmes. Mr Holmes, who in 2024 told Parliament that his businesses aim to operate with ‘the highest welfare standards’, has sat on the company’s board since 2024.At Mr Holmes’ Littlewood Farm in Frampton, near Dorchester, workers were filmed landing blows on cows’ udders, striking their hind legs with a hose and punching another. A sadistic worker at another of his farms, a short drive away in Frampton, was filmed repeatedly slamming an overhead milking parlour lever against cows’ backs and necks.Claire Palmer, executive director at the Animal Justice Project, said: ‘It shows an industry where injury is routine and where the milk keeps flowing even when the cow is broken.’ She added: ‘This investigation is not about one farm or one worker losing their temper. Calves will often be separated from their mothers within hours of being born – however, this is permitted under current rules An Arla spokesman said: ‘Animal welfare is of the utmost importance to us, and we take all reports and concerns seriously. We have therefore launched an urgent investigation’‘Across 13 counties and 15 Arla farms, we documented the same problems again and again: cows struggling to walk, calves dragged and forced to feed, mothers calling for their newborns, and animals subjected to rough handling and violence.‘Arla tells shoppers its cows are healthy, comfortable and treated as individuals.‘What our cameras documented was very different. These are not abstract statistics: they are individual animals living in pain.‘Consumers deserve to know what lies behind the milk they are buying. When the same problems appear across farm after farm, we have to question the system itself. That is the Big Milk Con.’ Workers at Oak Lodge Farm in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, which supplies Tesco, were filmed kneeing cows in the spine, pinching their flanks and pulling their tails.At Kingston Hill Farm in Oxfordshire, run by David Christensen, a member of Arla’s board of representatives since 2012, cows were beaten with metal pipes and forced to walk despite lameness.The Christensen family rent the farm from Oxford University’s St John’s College, which also takes its milk.Farmer Doug Roper was seen roughly slamming a metal gate into a cow at Lower House Farm in Worcestershire to force it to move, then wrenching a cow’s tail just hours after it gave birth.Gruesome footage from Marsh Farm in Dorset revealed the body of a calf had been left in a plastic wheelbarrow for three days, despite government guidance requiring dead animals to be collected and disposed of without ‘undue delay’ for safety reasons.The highest number of potential breaches was recorded at a family-run farm also called Longlands, in Derbyshire, including a malnourished cow who went 31 hours without water.Sickening footage shows how one cow that was too weak to stand was hoisted by its hips and dragged across concrete behind a farm vehicle, repeatedly kicked, kneed and pulled by its nostrils until its front legs were left injured and bloody.The cow was also pulled by the face, punched and suspended in mid-air by the hoist, while two young children could be clearly seen in the pens kicking and slapping fallen animals.Guidance from the British Cattle Veterinary Association says hip hoists ‘can be a useful tool to help lift downer cows to prevent them from pressure related injury’, but are ‘intended to lift the cow, rather than move it’.‘We love our girls, it’s a hard day when they go,’ a worker at the farm told undercover investigators at an open day.The farmer was recorded at the same event telling investigators that he used ‘electric shocks’ to move cows away from the robotic milkers, despite industry standards banning electric prods.Andrew Knight, a veterinary professor of animal welfare, said: ‘Having reviewed the footage I am deeply concerned by what it shows. This is not one bad farm. Similar failures appear on farm after farm, all within Arla’s assurance schemes. This footage suggests the system is failing the animals it claims to protect.’He added: ‘It’s worth recognising that some of what the footage shows, such as separating calves from their mothers within hours of birth, is permitted under current rules. That is why legal compliance and assurance labels should not be treated as guarantees of good welfare.’Paul Burr, president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association, said: ‘Cruelty has no place on any farm. These allegations must be investigated promptly, and any animals suffering must receive immediate care.‘Farm vets work every day to protect cattle welfare, and we will continue to support farmers in upholding high animal welfare standards and challenge poor practice wherever we find it.’Jenny Mace, an independent animal welfare expert and academic at St Andrews University, said: ‘This body of evidence points to much of the illegality being systemic.‘It is not due to one bad apple, either a farm or a staff member, but widespread and recurring across UK dairy farms.‘Multiple bodies including the Government’s own advisers have affirmed that a majority of criminality on UK farms goes unprosecuted, highlighting a deep enforcement problem.’The removal of the screw from the cow’s eyelid was ‘a dangerous intervention’ that should have only been carried out using the correct equipment, with veterinary intervention and under sedation, she said.She also cautioned against the dairy industry’s over-reliance on self-assessment, pointing out that Arla’s own standards scheme gives flagged farms 48 hours’ notice before a ‘spot check’.