The National Dairy Awards are coming to Auckland this Saturday 13 May but this time community groups frustrated with the industry’s inaction on climate change, environmental protections, Te Tiriti justice and animal welfare, will be greeting award attendees outside, in protest.

The protest will be launching a nationwide End Big Dairy campaign which aims to call out the industry’s terrible record for exploitation of our society, other animals and our ecosystems. Industrial dairy is the country’s number one climate polluter and it has left 98% of the country’s lakes in dire straits, while being major profiteers of land and resource theft from Maori communities, of animals, and of workers whose profession has the second highest rate of suicide in the country.

"The dairy industry is reliant on the exploitation and abuse of cows who are routinely subjected to forced impregnation, only to then have their calves taken from them and sent to slaughter at less than a week old. This industry annually kills nearly 2 million newborn calves, and another 1.4 million dairy cows when they’re no longer profitable. It objectifies cows, disregarding their welfare and treating them as units of production instead of the sentient individuals they are." says Elin Arbez from Animal Save New Zealand.

“The wholesale farming of a female cow's reproductive system for her milk is a harrowing process which should have no place in our world today. As intersectional feminists of Aotearoa, we believe that dairy farming should be rapidly transitioned out. At its core, New Zealand has a systemic and cultural problem with rape and abuse and how we treat and harvest from animals is symptomatic of that. Cows are mothers, their milk is for their babies, not for humans. Their misery and suffering should not be someone’s profit. Dairy farming is wrong, it is reproductive slavery. We want to break the cycle of abuse and change how animals, the environment and people are treated in Aotearoa.” Auckland Feminist Action member Eliana Darroch said.

“Dairy separates mother cows from their babies and turns their milk into a mass product. Dairy also separates human mothers from their babies as they aggressively market formula to vulnerable parents around the world. And dairy separates us from our collective mother, Papatūānuku, who's fenced out of our reach in chemical-ridden paddocks of exploitation.” says Pere Huriwai-Seger from Aotearoa Liberation league.

“For decades Maori have called on farmers to clean up their act and return stolen lands but we have just seen further pollution of waterways, reefs, soils, air and the spread of inequality in our communities by rich, powerful landowners. The increasing floods and storms are clear signs of what we now face by allowing big business to put their profits before the planet, and dictate our future. We call on dairy farmers to read the writing on the wall and sell up, to urgently reduce emissions and make way for native reforestation, regenerative horticulture for local markets and affordable housing for all.” says Tuhi-Ao Bailey, spokesperson for Climate Justice Taranaki.

The protest will begin with karakia at 4pm in Pigeon Park before proceeding to the dairy awards at Cordis Hotel on the corner of Karangahape Rd and Symonds St in Auckland. The event is whanau friendly and will have safety marshals in place. Groups suporting the event and campaign so far are Animal Save Aotearoa, Climate Justice Taranaki, Aotearoa Liberation League, Auckland Feminist Action, Taranaki Energy Watch, Te Waka Hourua, and Extinction Rebellion Aotearoa NZ.

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