Vegan activists protest outside Costa in Broadmead

Baby calves separated from their mothers at birth and cows with their legs in shackles.

These are just a couple of the messages a Bristol-based charity is sharing on the harsh reality of the UK dairy industry.

Activists from vegan charity Viva! stood outside Costa in Broadmead to reveal what they call “the true Costa dairy” following its undercover investigation into a farm in Kent.

Home Farm is a Red Tractor-approved dairy farm that supplies milk to Freshways, which supplies Costa with dairy milk.

According to the charity, after it was alerted by a whistleblower, its team of undercover investigators found the cows at the farm were “extremely thin, struggling to walk and that some were visibly injured or in shackles”.

Viva! filmed one sick calf being force-fed by tube while lying down. The charity said this kind of behaviour is against animal welfare guidelines as it can cause death.

The investigation also saw cows being ‘manhandled, slapped and shoved and calves being separated from their mothers shortly after birth’.

Despite its evidence, Viva! said the farm denies any wrongdoing, and Red Tractor claims that Home Farm abides by its standards.

After watching the undercover footage from Home Farm outside the coffee shop, a woman passing by told Bristol24/7 that she felt “absolutely disgusted and heartbroken”.

She said: “I just can’t comprehend why we’re doing this to animals for completely unnecessary purpose and why we as humans feel we have the right to enslave and abuse animals, kidnap their babies and steal their milk that is meant for their babies and use it for our own purposes.”

Activists from vegan charity Viva! stood outside Broadmead’s Costa Coffee to encourage people to choose plant-based milks – photo: Viva!

Rory Cockshaw, a campaigner for the charity, said his team are working from the ground upwards by speaking to the public about plant-based alternatives to milk.

They then hope this will have a ripple effect as there will be a lower demand for dairy milk in the hospitality and retail industries.

He said: “We’re raising awareness of the fact that cows are abused and killed in the dairy industry.

“Every cow in the dairy industry across the UK is killed between four and a half and six-years-old. Unless they’re male calves, in which case they’re killed after just a few days old or sold to the beef or veal industry.

“We’re encouraging people, not to avoid Costa, but to actually go into Costa and choose plant-based milks instead.

“There are so many options nowadays, they’re better for us, the environment and they’re significantly better for cows.”

Rory Cockshaw said: “We’re raising awareness of the fact that cows are abused and killed in the dairy industry.” – photo: Rachel Sutherland

The protest which took place on Saturday was one of 44 others taking place outside Costa Coffee shops nationwide.

Viva!’s founder and director, Juliet Gellatley, said: “After seeing first-hand the despicable conditions that these poor cows and calves are being kept in at Home Farm, I knew Viva! had to act.

“It was heart-rending to see these gentle, curious animals being treated so badly. Calves, desperate to suckle, sucked my fingers because they had been wrenched from their mothers when they were just hours old.

“We’re taking to the streets to educate people about the dairy industry: one that profits from exploitation and suffering.

“We’ll be having judgement-free, positive conversations with Costa Coffee customers, helping them see that dairy alternatives are delicious, and don’t involve suffering.”

Main photo: Rachel Sutherland 

Read next: 

• XR Bristol gather outside Barclays Broadmead to protest ‘climate criminals’
• Pastan, Prince Street: ‘A lesson in executing lovely vegan food’ – restaurant review 
• ‘Bristol residents need to do more than put a pink XR sticker on their t-shirt’ 
• Vegan Indian restaurant opening soon

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