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Belgian Blue Cattle Manipulation

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The effects of selective breeding and genetic manipulation can be seen in many ways as cruel treatment in the cattle industry, especially when talking about dairy cattle and beef cattle. As stated by United Kingdom levy board for milk production, the European Milk Development Council, “The average dairy cow now produces more than 6695 L of milk per year, approximately 20% more than her counterpart from just 10 years ago.” This is twenty times more than the average calf needs, meaning dairy cattle are exploited for their milk to satisfy the demand in the growing industry. Like humans, cows only produce milk when they are pregnant, meaning dairy cattle are pregnant most of their life. If not for the abuses of milk production within dairy cattle, …show more content…

The “Belgian Blue” is highly sought over as it has the a naturally occurring gene that breeders have taken advantage of to create more meat on the animal, in this case the Belgian Blue is “double-muscled.” This unfortunately has been capitalized negatively to the point where females of the Belgian Blue cattle cannot give natural childbirth and must have cesareans (European Commission Scientific Committee). The treatment of these animals due to only being able to give birth through cesarean is greatly diminished because because the number of caesareans that can be performed is physiologically limited. It is commonly accepted that five caesareans is a maximum that a cow can physically sustain (Kolkman et al). So, not only is the cow going to be born just be slaughtered, but they also have to endure a relatively invasive surgery to bring their young into a world in which their fate is identical. The Belgian Blue is only one example of the exploitation of many different cattle species that share this naturally occurring “double-muscled” gene. The use of genetic manipulation within the industry of animal agriculture plays a substantial negative role in the lives of cattle and their treatment and should not be a frequently

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