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Open Access CC BY V4.0
Journal article
When is the problem truly "solved"? Australian public attitudes toward future scenarios addressing early life killing of surplus dairy calves
Journal of dairy science, Vol.109(5), pp.5347-5355
2026
PMID: 41780860
Abstract
Early life killing of surplus dairy calves is widely recognized as a threat to the dairy industry's social license to operate. The aim of this study was to determine how different future scenarios influence the Australian public's perceptions of surplus calf management. A representative sample of the Australian public (n = 1,000) was recruited to an online survey. Participants were randomly presented 1 of 4 treatments comprising different combinations of 2 factors: (1) (a) presence or (b) absence of a dairy industry commitment to discontinue slaughtering calves in the first 2 wk of life; and (2) surplus calves are raised to 18 mo of age in either (a) a grazing system or (b) a feedlot system. Presence of pasture in the provided scenarios positively influenced participants' attitudes. However, presence of an industry commitment to ending early life slaughter did not. Our results provide insights into how different systems that address early life killing may affect public perceptions, indicating that even when early life killing of calves is addressed, the management of these animals may continue to present challenges.
Details
- Title
- When is the problem truly "solved"? Australian public attitudes toward future scenarios addressing early life killing of surplus dairy calves
- Authors/Creators
- Sarah Bolton - University of British ColumbiaLara Sirovica - University of British ColumbiaMarina A. G. von Keyserlingk - University of British Columbia
- Publication Details
- Journal of dairy science, Vol.109(5), pp.5347-5355
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®
- Number of pages
- 9
- Identifiers
- 991005913218307891
- Copyright
- © 2026, The Authors
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Veterinary Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.51 Dairy & Animal Sciences
- 3.51.799 Farm Animal Welfare
- Web Of Science research areas
- Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
- Food Science & Technology
- ESI research areas
- Agricultural Sciences