But we know this is not what happens. Similarly, dairy cows living comfortable lives and dying of old age is also not what really happens in most cases. Housing Dairy cows are housed in different situations. In the Western U.S., they tend to be on feedlots, where they live outside year-round, but are free to walk around the lot. In the Midwestern U.S. where it is cold, cows are usually kept indoors for most, if not the entire year.
Some cows are in 'free-stall' barns where they are free to walk around the barn.
The Dairy Industry is a Slaughter Industry Whether they be free-range or factory farmed, dairy cows are no strangers to the slaughterhouse. Even when the udder doesn t break down, it is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines. Under more natural conditions, dairy cows would live fifteen to twenty years. Many cows are culled primarily because of reproductive failure, low milk yield, udder breakdown, feet and leg weaknesses, and mastitis. USDA statistics show that in 1940, cows averaged 2.3 tons of milk per year.