The Bond Between Animals and Their Young
The bond between an animal and her young is one of the strongest in the natural world. In animals like cows, pigs, and hens, this connection not only ensures the survival of their babies — it’s also full of affection, communication, and protection.
But in industrial farming, these bonds are systematically broken. Forced separation, abuse, and neglect prevent these sensitive animals from living according to their nature. The animal agriculture industry prioritises exploitation over animal welfare, abusing their capacity to feel.
In their natural environment, for example, a pig will build a nest before giving birth, guided by her maternal instincts. Once the piglets are born, she recognises each one by their smell and vocalisations, and they respond to her calls for food and comfort.
Natural nursing can last up to 17 weeks. However, on industrial farms, mothers and babies are separated after just a few days or weeks — causing obvious distress to both.
Hens, too, form strong bonds with their chicks even before they hatch. While incubating her eggs, the mother hen communicates through gentle sounds — and her chicks respond from inside the shell. After hatching, she teaches them what to eat, keeps them safe, and shelters them under her wings.
None of this happens in the egg industry. Male chicks are separated immediately and ground alive; hens never get to see their young.
Cows lick and clean their calves right after birth, stimulate them, and feed them milk for months. They recognise each other by smell and voice, and form a close bond that grows stronger every day.
But on dairy farms, calves are taken away shortly after birth. The mother cries and calls out for days, while the calf faces an equally cruel fate: if female, she’ll be forced into the same cycle of exploitation as her mother; if male, he’ll be killed for his meat at a very young age.
Be part of the change: choose compassion!
Animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses are not machines. They are sentient beings, capable of deep emotional bonds — and of suffering deeply when the ones they love most are taken away.
At Animal Equality, we work to expose this reality and demand change. Because no animal should be separated from her baby just to produce more.
LIVE KINDLY
With rich emotional lives and unbreakable family bonds, farmed animals deserve to be protected. You can build a kinder world by replacing animal food products with plant-based ones.
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