More and more people no longer want to contribute to animal suffering through their diet and therefore decide to become vegan. That means: No meat or fish, no honey, no eggs and no dairy products. Milk production in particular has often been the subject of recent discussions, for example when animal welfare organizations show videos of desperate cows whose calves have just been taken away – since the milk is to be used for human consumption. Actor Sky du Mont has apparently also dealt with the topic.
In any case, on the talk show “3 nach 9”, moderated by Judith Rakers and Giovanni di Lorenzo, he spoke out strongly against dairy farming. “Not only that the cow suffers because the calf is taken away from her and roars. What happens to the calves?” He asked on the show on Friday evening. His thesis: “I know again: They’re all going to be killed. They’re thrown into containers, then there are several layers and the bottom ones then die by suffocating.” Hannes Jaenicke, also a guest on the show, says: “I’m glad you’re telling that, Sky.”
Both actors agree: “If you drink milk, you have to know that.” The problem: As problematic as many aspects of milk production may be, the claim about the calves dying in agony in containers cannot be confirmed – at least for Germany. Even animal welfare organizations say they have never heard of this practice. You have probably seen Mont a video of such incidents from abroad, or one in which similarly horrible things are happening to other animal species. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad videos of evidence of animal cruelty from fattening stables and slaughterhouses.
But this specific allegation is not true. The actor has since apologized for the statement. “I regret my mistake, which unfortunately I find difficult to make up for, but I will try,” he wrote on Instagram. What’s true: Dairy cows have to give birth to a calf every year in order to guarantee good milk production. As a rule, however, this must not remain with the mother cow, but is separated from her. Male calves are usually sold to butchers at a young age.
Despite du Mont’s apology, the “Free Farmers” organization is outraged and is considering suing him – and also Hannes Jaenicke. The association is disappointed even with the moderator duo, since neither Rakers nor di Lorenzo would have objected. The great sensitivity is perhaps understandable, since consumers are becoming more and more critical when buying traditional agricultural products such as meat and milk, and – after the scandals of recent years – also more and more reluctant. However, the solution to this situation will probably not be lawsuits against celebrities.
Sources: BR, Instagram
