Welfare expert reports 360 potential breaches across camera-monitored farms
Following this weekend’s Mail on Sunday exposé of cows kicked, hoisted and dragged on Arla-supplying farms, Animal Justice Project is calling on Tesco and Morrisons to suspend the farms linked to their supply chains, rather than leave Arla, whose own board director and senior representatives run some of the farms, to investigate itself. Footage from the camera-monitored farms showed cows kicked while down, downer cows lifted into the air by hip hoists, and cows dragged by their faces across hard floors.
Independent animal welfare expert Jenny Mace identified 360 potential welfare breaches, including 50 serious lameness cases, in a report. Trading Standards have been contacted in all areas where the farms are.
The British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) said the allegations “must be investigated promptly” and that any animals suffering “must receive immediate care.” Veterinarian Professor Andrew Knight, who reviewed the footage, said it shows a system “failing the animals it claims to protect,” with similar failures appearing “on farm after farm, all within Arla’s assurance schemes.”
Claire Palmer, Founder and Executive Director of Animal Justice Project, said: “Tesco and Morrisons can’t outsource their responsibility to the very company whose board director and senior representatives run farms in our investigation. Arla can’t mark its own homework.” She added: “Shoppers trust supermarkets to stand behind the welfare promises on their shelves. If Tesco and Morrisons mean what they say about animal welfare, they should suspend these farms now and commission a fully independent review, not wait for Arla to clear itself.”
In response to the Mail on Sunday, Arla said: “Animal welfare is of the utmost importance to us, and we take all reports and concerns seriously. We have therefore launched an urgent investigation.”
Five of the investigated farms are understood to supply milk that ends up in Tesco or Morrisons. Supplying Tesco: Kingston Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, whose operator David Christensen sits on Arla’s Tesco Committee and has been on Arla’s Board of Representatives since 2012; Oak Lodge Farm, Leicestershire, where 25 serious lameness cases were filmed in just two days; and Bramley Farm, Northamptonshire, where seven potential welfare breach cases were identified in around a minute of reviewed footage. Supplying Morrisons: Longlands Farm, Dorset, operated by the farming business of Arla Foods board director George Holmes; and Church Farm/Riverside Dairy, Bedfordshire, associated with Richard Davis, a former director of Red Tractor.
Morrisons told the Mail on Sunday: “We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all of our suppliers to operate to the high standards that we and our customers demand. This footage is deeply concerning. Arla is undertaking an urgent investigation and we will take all necessary action once we have the findings.” Tesco said: “We take animal welfare extremely seriously, and we expect all our farmers to adhere to our high welfare standards. Some elements of this footage are distressing, and we have thoroughly reviewed this to investigate whether there is any evidence of poor treatment at our farms. While there are a number of non-Tesco farms featured, we will always fully investigate any allegations and take immediate action against any farm failing to meet our high welfare standards.”
Animal Justice Project said Arla, as a cooperative owned by its farmers, has a conflict of interest when the farms in question include those run by people at the top of its own governance. The group noted that Arla’s 2025 Annual Report states 99.8% of audited farmer owners had “no major mobility issues,” but that a farm is only recorded as having a major mobility issue when more than 15% of its cows are lame, and that routine welfare audits take place only once every three years.
You Might Also Like:
Paul Burr, president of the BCVA, said: “Cruelty has no place on any farm. These allegations must be investigated promptly, and any animals suffering must receive immediate care. Farm vets work every day to protect cattle welfare, and we will continue to support farmers in upholding high animal welfare standards and challenge poor practice wherever we find it.”
Jenny Mace said: “These findings cannot credibly be dismissed as the actions of one ‘bad apple’. When the same forms of suffering recur across different farms, they point towards systemic problems within the industry and weaknesses in how welfare standards are monitored and enforced.”
Animal Justice Project is calling on Tesco and Morrisons to immediately suspend sourcing from the named farms while an investigation takes place; commission investigations fully independent of Arla and Red Tractor and publish the findings; publicly disclose which Arla farms supply their own-label milk; and introduce unannounced, camera-verified welfare monitoring across their dairy supply chains.
