dairy production
Key figures
+330 000
333 191 calves were raised and slaughtered in Belgium in 2025.
Like us, cows are mammals. To produce milk, they have to be pregnant. Dairy farms, seeking to maintain a continuous supply of milk, therefore repeatedly inseminate dairy cows. That is why there are so many calves in our country.
12%
Around 12% die before they even reach slaughter age, a figure higher than the average mortality rate across all farmed animals (3 to 5%).
Given the very young age of these calves, this high mortality rate can only be attributed to poor housing and transport conditions.
6 Months
Calves are slaughtered at six to eight months old, even though these animals have a life expectancy of around twenty years.
Some are raised and killed in Belgium, while others are transported abroad, often in extremely harsh conditions, to be fattened and slaughtered there.
1,5 m²
Belgian law allows as little as 1,5 to 1,8 m² per calf, an entirely insufficient area for calves to express essential behaviours such as playing, resting comfortably or interacting with their peers.
The problem?
No milk without a calf
In 2025, more than 330,000 calves were raised and then slaughtered in Belgium. The reason there are so many calves in our country is simple: like us, cows are mammals. To produce milk, they have to be pregnant…
Cramped group housing
After a period of individual confinement lasting up to eight weeks, calves are moved into group pens, as required by European legislation. But their living conditions barely improve, as four to five calves…
Locked up alone
Our footage shows the narrow individual pens in which calves are placed after being torn away from their mothers. When these pens are outdoors, they may take the form of plastic hutches…
Killed young
For their flesh to be sold as “veal”, calves are slaughtered before the age of eight months – the youngest from just six months old – even though these animals have a life expectancy of around twenty years. Some are raised and killed in Belgium…
Un unbalanced diet
Because consumers expect pale veal (white or pink), calves are fed a diet – mainly powdered milk replacer – that contains very little iron, to prevent their flesh from turning red…
The hell of fattening units
Two weeks after birth, calves are sent to fattening units. Transported while their immune systems are still fragile, many calves fall ill. Some even die during this first journey…
Investigation
In November 2023, GAIA carried out an investigation and obtained footage from several dairy farms and calf-fattening units in Belgium, including in Flanders. Our footage reveals the isolation and appalling living conditions endured by these young dairy calves, who are separated from their mothers from birth.
Gaia's demands
More respectful farming practices do exist and are already being implemented in several European countries. GAIA is calling for concrete changes to improve the conditions in which calves are raised. It is time to adopt more ethical and responsible standards.
GAIA also invites everyone to rethink their diet and move away from dairy products.
Alternatives exist!
GAIA is releasing this investigation also to encourage consumers to turn away from veal and dairy products and to choose plant-based alternatives instead.
