HEERA ALAYA

“For a cow to produce milk, she must have a calf yearly. The calf is taken away immediately at birth.”

“If the calf is female, she is raised to become a milking cow. And if a calf is a male, he is useless to the dairy farm.”

“The veal industry was created to use all these unwanted male calves born on dairy farms.”

“With increasing concern over veal calves, dairy calves are now raised for beef.”

“And ultimately, when dairy cows are no longer profitable on a dairy farm, they are slaughtered and used for beef.”

‘When humans treat other animals with cruelty, it dehumanises us, and we start rationalising violence.”

“Male calves, a day old, are sent to slaughter. Most often, owners of a male calf will abandon the calf, leaving it to graze on garbage and die, or tether the calf in deserted areas to die.”

“The dairy development industry hires armies of para-vets, who end up puncturing the cows uteruses, which causes internal bleeding. The cows die within 10 to 15 days; no one is held accountable.”

“I have travelled to various parts of the world
and encountered individuals who make general claims
that child abuse does not occur in their culture.
I respond by asking them to select any city in their country,
and within 24 hours, I can demonstrate—using our software
—how many individuals have engaged in the horrific trade
of images depicting the abuse of three-year-olds.”

“As offenders accumulate wealth,
they often engage in abusive behaviours
with a reduced fear of being apprehended.
Some of the most organised and dangerous groups
on the Internet tend to be more educated
and come from socio-economically privileged backgrounds.”

“The reality is that the predator
will exert considerable influence over the family,
whether through financial dependency or by manipulating
perceptions. Meanwhile, victims are left to endure
the long-lasting aftermath of their trauma,
often unable to achieve their full potential.”

“When people reduce meat and animal consumption, they often start with larger animals like cattle and pigs, and then maybe chicken. But if people change their animal consumption to reduce animal suffering, they would start with the animals that suffer the most—laying hens and dairy cows.”

“Most people usually assume that cows continually lactate; people don’t realise that cows are constantly re-impregnated, and their babies are taken away for slaughter so we can drink the milk. I want people to understand cows’ suffering, especially female animals, who are kept in cramped conditions and eventually killed (by the time they are around four years old).”

“Pigs are extremely gregarious and tightly bonded. It’s incredibly stressful for a pig to be in a foreign environment without its herd or mates. On seeing their buddies let off, the pigs go back and forth desperately. Sometimes, pigs get so upset that they try to leap over the bars, breaking their limbs. As humane as a slaughterhouse can be, Bob says it’s never humane.”

“I get angry when circuses and sometimes zoos don’t do anything to educate you. For a child to see an elephant parade around a circus ring in a tutu, with a headdress on, and a guy with a hook prodding an elephant is no way to see an elephant. Or seeing wild animals in stressful situations in unnatural environments is not the proper context.”

“The most important aspect of being on the team is being kind and sensitive. A documentary can only be as good as what we shoot, and we cannot get any decent interview or relaxed behaviour from the animals if someone is harsh, judgmental, or rough. I work with wonderful, sensitive people who have the skill set.”