Animal research group Ongehoord has released new undercover footage showing the cruel treatment of cows and calves in the Dutch dairy industry. Extreme violence is used to force the animals onto transport trucks.
“As long as the dairy industry exists, exhausted cows and unwanted calves will continue to be transported. We’ve been capturing this kind of footage for years, and nothing changes,” Johan Boontsra from Ongehoord said.
He explained that nothing will change because sending animals to slaughterhouses is a big part of the dairy industry. “Cows don’t skip to the slaughterhouse. They are beaten to make them go there.”
The videos were recorded between April and November 2025 at five different cattle collection centers, where animals from different farms are gathered before being transported to breeding facilities, fattening farms, or slaughterhouses.
The locations in the Netherlands include: De Bruijn Impex in Steenbergen, De Keizer Vee in Oud-Alblas, Stens Transport in Staphorst, Veeverzamelcentrum Noord-Holland in Noordbeemster and Veveha in Sint-Oedenrode.
Cow lifted by her legs
The footage shows disturbing scenes: animals being hit with sticks, pushed with electric prods, and even dragged while still conscious. One video shows a sick cow being lifted by her legs with a forklift at the center in Oud-Alblas. Calves are pulled by their tails, and some animals are kicked while lying on the ground.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said the images are “deeply shocking.” In one case, workers repeatedly tried to force a cow who couldn’t stand to get up using painful methods before dragging her away with a machine.
Using electric prods on animals is already illegal for calves and is set to be banned for all animals in national transport from January 2026.
Dutch animal protection authority fails to act
Ongehoord criticizes the NVWA, saying the agency has failed to act, even after similar abuse was filmed in 2023. The group believes the problem is not isolated but built into the dairy system itself.
Cows in the industry are kept pregnant every year to produce milk. By the age of six, their bodies are often exhausted. Many are very sick, but they are still sent to slaughter, even though the transport of such weak animals is illegal.
Johan Boonstra from Ongehoord says cows don’t walk willingly to slaughterhouses; they are forced to go. He believes abuse is “part of the system,” as it takes physical pain to move exhausted animals.
Animal welfare organization Wakker Dier also points to the high number of animal deaths in these collection centers and is considering legal action to ban them.
According to EU rules, animals must be transported directly and without delay. Collection centers may be in violation of this law.
– Advertisement –
