As part of the campaign, they conducted independent research examining the awareness of the cow milk production processes. According to the study, even 85,1 % of research subjects consider misleading that dairy products are advertised by showing happy cows or cows living like royalty, even though that is now how they live in reality! The research also came up with devastating results that proved how little citizens know about routine dairy industry procedures: as many as 68,4 % of Croatian citizens do not know that cows on dairy farms produce milk because they gave birth and 73,4 % of citizens do not know that the usual practice in dairy production is to take away the calf from the mother immediately after birth!

Animal Friends Croatia explain that the research result as per which 92,1 % of examinees also do not support the practice of separating calves from mothers on the same day they are born, is yet one more proof that the public would choose plant-based milk if they were aware of the dairy industry usual practice and that cows on the farm are not treated as queens, regardless of writing on the packaging and false images of happy little cows.

That is why they, as part of the campaign, protested in front of the farm in Baranja and conducted two public actions with the goal of educating the citizens who deserve to know the truth about the products they purchase. Passers-by at Zagreb Ban Jelačić Square were surprised with a truck with large visuals outside and a video shown inside a truck. By action on Zagreb Zrinjevac, citizens could walk into the dairy industry farm and the slaughterhouse through a virtual walk. They placed posters that motivate through an emotional and encouraging message to replace cow milk with plant-based one. Furthermore, they also sent to all Croatian dairies a proposal to include plant-based milk production and plant-based dairy products in their business plans.

With the newest video, they summarize the advantages of plant-based milk for the health of individuals as well as the environment: „Use of plant-based products is one of the most important steps one can take in order to reduce their ecological footprint and to prevent the cruelty towards the cows and the calves”, Animal Friends Croatia state by pointing out the fact that plant-based food is a natural and a safe source of calcium and other required nutrients. They add that the people who have taken out milk and dairy products from their diet have more energy, better digestion, reduced bloating, cleaner skin and reduced asthma and sinus infection symptoms. Aside from that, plant-based milk production also means less greenhouse gas emissions, reduced water usage and reduced pollution of the water and the soil as compared to the production of cow milk. That is why they invite all to research the increasing plant-based milk offers and other plant-based dairy products such as cheeses, creams and yogurts.

Plant-based products are attracting more and more attention from the young generation of consumers. 63% of millennials are trying to include plant-based food into their diet. Members of the Gen-Z (people born between 1995 and 2007) are more conscious of the food impact has on health and welfare, whereby even as many as 75% of them have declared they are reducing the consumption of animal products.

As per Animal Friends Croatia statements, vegan products are attractive to all, regardless of dietary habits and the necessity for stopping climate changes is a strong incentive for many companies for the development of low-carbon plant-based products. Furthermore, people are increasingly more aware of the health advantages of plant-based milk and cruel practices related to animal breeding and slaughterhouses.

„We believe that we will encourage some of the Croatian dairies to the production of plant-based milk, cheese, cream, yogurt and other products. The dairy industry is the cause of the large consumption of drinking water and other resources and is a huge environmental polluter. Introducing plant-based products is a huge step that has a significant impact on people’s health, reduction of carbon print and preventing the cruelty towards the animals”, Animal Friends Croatia says.

One of the most known companies that have completely changed its business is the dairy Elmhurst Dairy, with headquarters in New York, in 2016, after more than 90 years of being in business, announced it to stop the production of cow milk in order to produce plant-based milk. This truly inspiring transition story is also noted on their web page where they offer a large variety of plant-based milk from rice, oats, walnuts, Indian nuts and pistachio.

Also world-wide known is the case of the farmer Jay Wild who sent his entire herd of cows to the local animal shelter instead of the slaughterhouse and started plant-based production. The film „73 Cows” was also made and received an award for the best 15-minute short film at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA).

There are also positive examples in Croatia so on our market plant-based milk and other plant-based products are more and more available, both from small and larger producers. It is foreseen that the global market for plant-based drinks will increase by 11.2 % in the next five years, and knowing that many dairies do not have either the knowledge or the resources for switching to plant-based products there are worldwide programs that offer help to dairy farms with the transition from animal breeding to plant-based production.

With their campaign “Looking for a Queen” Animal Friends Croatia is attempting to encourage individuals to find out more about dairy industry cruelty towards cows and calves. „All who into their diet introduce plant-based milk can play a key and true role in creating a better world for all beings, that being a world in which children are not taken away from mothers and the world where someone’s life is not ended in violence and at the end of their production period”, Animal Friends Croatia concluded and invited all to watch the new video with passers-by reactions that were at the main Zagreb square and peaked into the truck where films were shown documenting the painstaking life of cows.

In the free brochure „Plant-based Milk Conquering the World” all interested can find out more about the importance of production and offer of plant-based milk.

Sitting in the safety of chairs with an appropriately arranged background of the information booth, viewers were able to see with their own eyes what 270 million cows a year experience on a daily basis. Virtual reality technology has found its application in animal protection, where it takes viewers to areas normally hidden from the public. Through the video called “Dairy industry in 360 degrees” they was guided virtually by actress Evanna Lynch, best known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the “Harry Potter” franchise.

“This is the first time in Croatia that viewers were able to experience the ruthless practices of the dairy industry using VR glasses: taking away newborn calves, placing distraught calves in solitary pens, turning cows into milking machines and the last day of worn-out and exhausted cows. It was also a challenge for everyone: some of them couldn’t endure watching the entire video.” said Animal Friends Croatia.

In a study on changes in attitudes and meat consumption by Aalborg University in Denmark, researchers found that immersive virtual reality videos have a bigger impact on viewers than traditional screen videos. Animal friends believe that they encouraged viewers to wonder what animals have to go through in order to have a glass of milk or cheese on the table and to think about the cause-and-effect relationship of our everyday, seemingly banal habits.

Misleading advertising of cows as happy or queens is a very common choice among dairy brands. With their campaign and action in Zrinjevac, Animal Friends want to draw attention to the fact that the reality of cows in the dairy industry is far from the misleading marketing depiction of happy cows. Messages drawing attention to the brutal fate of calves and cows, along with an invitation to choose plant-based milk, can be seen on billboards all over Croatia.

Namely, they explain that half of the offspring of mother cows on dairy farms are male calves. Since they cannot produce milk, the dairy industry has no use for them. They are not profitable for the “production” of beef and beef like those from genetically bred “meat breeds”, so they end up in slaughterhouses like veal.

Animal Friends Croatia adds that male calves, like their sisters, are separated from their mothers immediately after birth and locked in narrow individual cages, so small that they can hardly even turn around inside. They often do not even get colostrum (first milk) from the mother but through a feeding device. In lack of their mothers, calves desperately try to suck parts of the fence and even the farm worker’s fingers.

Mothers call their children days after separation. It is a common situation that they listen to calls and cries every day without being able to approach each other. Although they would naturally suckle for six months, after intensive fattening with substitute feed for three to four months, they end up in the slaughterhouse. Male calves never live to adulthood, while female calves, once grown, suffer the same fate as their mothers – a cycle of repeated fertilization, birth and removal of children, transformation into milking machines and, ultimately, death in the slaughterhouse.

“The dairy industry’s marketing campaigns cover up the truth about this massive injustice to male calves and cows. They openly deceive consumers by showing their victims in pastoral conditions, on green pastures lit by the sun, and even calling cows queens. They present cow’s milk as a ‘perfect natural food’, which it truly is – but not for us, but for the calves. Consuming milk of another species is completely unnatural because mothers of different species of mammals produce milk adapted specifically to the cubs of their own species until they transition to solid food. Contrary to the misleading marketing of the dairy industry, milk is not ‘produced’ by happy and healthy cows. Moreover, neither cows nor calves experience anything peaceful and happy in their short lives,” said Animal Friends Croatia.

Posters describing the entire arduous life of male calves in one sentence appeared in Zagreb, Vrbovac, Samobor, Zaprešić, Bjelovar, Koprivnica, Našice, Karlovac, Osijek, Vinkovci, Pula, Split, Zadar, Dubrovnik and other cities. They invite passers-by to try plant milk instead of cow’s milk. “Using plant milk literally saves lives. It is one of the most important steps an individual can take to reduce their impact on the planet and the environment and prevent animal cruelty. Within the large and varied offer, everyone can find something for themselves, and the possibilities for application and experimentation in favorite recipes know no bounds”, concludes Animal Friends Croatia.

“There is nothing more cruel than taking a child from a mother, and the entire dairy industry is based on the abuse of motherhood. In order to manipulate their reproductive systems, cows are repeatedly artificially inseminated, and then their calves are taken away immediately after birth. Mother cows show symptoms of anxiety and mourning after being separated from their young, and this is often manifested through depression, apathy and refusal of food. Most of the cows on dairy farms are exhausted and their ‘productive life’ expires by the age of five, after which they are sent to slaughter,” Animal Friends Croatia point out.

They also add that cows are the animals whose bodies are most intensively exploited for human consumption, and male calves end up in the slaughterhouse as an unwanted byproduct of this industry. The dairy industry tries to hide or distort all of the above. Some of the producers go so far with their marketing approach that they portray the cows as happy or queens, thereby deceiving and deceiving the public. However, 85.1% of the public believes that it is misleading that dairy products are advertised by depicting cows that are happy or live like queens.

With posters in Zagreb, Split, Šibenik, Zadar, Osijek, Sisak, Koprivnica, Dubrovnik, Našice, Slavonski Brod, Bjelovar and other cities, Animal Friends Croatia want to encourage citizens to try one of the many types of plant-based milk: “Using plant-based milk products is a positive step which has a significant impact on human health, reducing the carbon footprint and preventing animal cruelty.”

“Every mammal’s milk is different because its composition is adapted to the young of its species: cow’s milk is adapted to calves, dog’s milk to puppies, and cat’s milk to kittens. Cow’s milk, not only is not intended for human consumption, but is also completely unnatural, considering that humans are the only species that drinks milk in adulthood, to the detriment of their own health, the environment and the cows from which it was taken”, they point out.

“People naturally lose the ability to digest milk as they grow older, and drinking milk is associated with anemia, cramps and diarrhea, and is the cause of various forms of allergies, hormone problems, acne and cancer. The countries with the highest consumption of cow’s milk also have the highest percentage of osteoporosis, because proteins of animal origin use up calcium,” concludes Animal Friends Croatia.

They also tell everyone to think about mother cows and their fate, help them and choose some of the various types of vegetable milk and cheese that are available on the market or can be made at home. They also invite everyone to read the brochure “Plant milk conquers the world” full of information and recipes for delicious dishes.

Talking to the public, Animal Friends Croatia activists found out that the public did not approve of the dairy industry portraying cows as happy although they are separated from their children immediately upon birth, they are sent for fattening or to a slaughterhouse where they are killed after only a few years of life. The truth is that dairy industry propaganda works hard to conceal the reality and hold back vital information from the consumers. As a result, as much as 68.4% of the public do not know that to produce milk, cows on dairy farm must give birth. A public opinion survey has shown that 85.1% of the public believes commercials showing happy cows or cows living as queens misleading.

Furthermore, Animal Friends Croatia warned that cow’s milk is unhealthy and that humans are the only species consuming another species’ milk and the only one drinking it into adulthood. “Consuming animal milk is unnatural, unhealthy, and unnecessary, in addition to being incredibly cruel. Stopping dairy consumption brings numerous health benefits – it increases energy levels, reduces bloating, improves digestion, results in clearer skin, helps reduce asthma symptoms and inflammation. Sixty-five percent of global population is lactose intolerant. We invite everyone to try out various plant-based products such as soya, rice, oat, and other plant-based milk,” the group stated.

Translation of the inscriptions on banners:

COWS ARE TREATED AS BIOLOGICAL MACHINES AND NOT LIKE QUEENS!

STOP THE FALSE MARKETING

THE KINGDOM IS FAIRY TALE, AND THE TRUTH IS A HORROR

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

TAKING CHILDREN AWAY FROM THEIR MOTHERS IS NOT ROYAL TREATMENT!

QUEENS, BUT THEY KILL THEM AT JUST 4.5 YEARS OLD?

QUEENS, BUT ARTIFICIALLY INSEMINATED YEAR AFTER YEAR?

LET THE CONSUMERS KNOW ABOUT THE BRUTAL TRUTH BEHIND DAIRY PRODUCTS!

COMPARING COWS WITH QUEENS IS A COVER UP OF THE REAL SITUATION IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY!

THE QUEEN’S CHILDREN TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, AND MILK INTO CARTONS!

85.1% OF CITIZENS CONSIDER IT MISLEADING TO ADVERTISE DAIRY PRODUCTS BY SHOWING COWS AS LIVING LIKE ROYALTY

92.1% OF CROATIAN CITIZENS DO NOT SUPPORT THE PRACTICE OF SEPARATING CALVES FROM MOTHERS IMMEDIATELY AFTER BIRTH

Nevertheless, Animal Friends Croatia explain that despite the fact that routine practices in cow and calf treatment may be in accordance with national and European regulations, this does not diminish the animals’ tragic fate in dairy industry. On the contrary, it affirms that such treatment cannot be considered as royal. Namely, social network posts by the Cow Queen brand go as far as claiming that their “queens” are travelling to the seaside for their hard-earned vacation “for a while”. “The only place those cows will ever see, apart from the farm where they are being exploited for milk, is – the slaughterhouse! Thus, telling the public that cows that are actually headed for slaughter are going on holiday constitutes mockery and deceit,” state Animal Friends Croatia poignantly.

In addition, they emphasise that no legal regulation obliges farmers to separate calves from cows immediately upon birth, but that this is rather farmers’ own choice. They maintain that rules, even if proscribed by law, are not necessarily ethical. All arguments point out to their claims that there is nothing royal about the dairy industry, and calling cows queens represents cruel exaggeration.

Separating calves from their mothers immediately upon birth, a common practice at Belje and most other farms in Croatia, means extreme stress for these sentient animals, often resulting in sad and frightened calling cries between mothers and their babies. The reason behind this practice is to prevent the calf from developing a breastfeeding habit, which, were these creatures humans, would be considered cruel. Lonely and separated from their mothers, calves desperately try to suck on parts of barn partitions, even farm employees’ fingers. Most often they do not even get to suck their first milk, the colostrum, directly from their mother but via a feeding machine.

In many cases, cows manifest explicit anxiety and sadness after being separated from their babies, which is reflected in their depression, apathy and food refusal. The majority of cows at dairy farms are continually exhausted, while their ‘production age’ is over by the time they are five years old. After this age, they are sent for slaughtering, while parts of their bodies are turned into meat products. Without constant fertilization, births and separation from their young, cows could live up to 15 or 20 years.

According to a public opinion survey, 85.1% of the Croatian public consider it deceitful to advertise dairy products with images of happy cows or cows living as queens, if this is not how they live in reality. In other words, the vast majority of our citizens agree with the stance taken by Animal Friends Croatia. The same opinion prevailed in a street survey the group conducted.

Even though in its announcements Belje points out that cows are taken care of by their long-term employees who try to treat them as queens, it is an undeniable fact that these same “queens” are forcefully artificially inseminated, their children taken away immediately after birth and are killed after on the average within four and a half years, and their male children even earlier. All of this is not royal at all! Such practice is the same within the total dairy industry.

Despite that, Belje imposes to the consumers, in a fact, an idea that their dairy products are delivered from happy little cows. In social media, it is pointed out that the cows from their farms’ party live in a castle, enjoy the spring-like scenery, with butterflies and swallows, take long vacations, and similar. In their campaign, they use anthropomorphic methods creating an aura of innocence around their products. But, if we would really compare the cows to people, we would see that what they are subject to is truly terrifying.

„It is unethical and mocking to place the cows, who in fact are slaves, in royalty context. What is too much, is too much!” Animal Friends Croatia are determined.

They also add that Belje has the responsibility to take care of their consumers to find out more about the production of their drink since the public knows very little about milk production and the treatment of cows on dairy farms. This was also confirmed by the public street survey and the public opinion research from which it is clear that only 26.6% of Croatian citizens know that the usual practice in milk production is to take away the calf from the mother immediately after birth. Only 31.6% know that cows produce milk exclusively because they gave birth and that it is meant for feeding their children only!

With the Animal Friends Croatia attitude most of the citizens also agree: 85.1% of the public considers misleading that dairy products are advertised as showing happy cows who live like royalty when, in fact, that is not how they live!

„Only vegan products should contain illustrations and photos of happy animals”, Animal Friends Croatia concludes. They invite all to watch a video on www.trazisekraljica.net with actual practices in the dairy industry and the public street survey in order to find out more about a great injustice towards the cows and the calves within the dairy industry as well as how to help them.

HERE you can see more photos from the protest.

During August 2022 an independent survey was conducted on a random representative sample of 1,000 adult citizens of the Republic of Croatia. The research examined the awareness of cow’s milk production processes. The results of the research shocked Animal Friends Croatia, and they believe that the data will surprise the public as well.

As many as 68.4% of Croatian citizens do not know that cows on dairy farms produce milk because they have given birth. The answers obtained from the research were confirmed by a survey recorded on the streets of Zagreb. Most interviewees think that it is normal for cows to have milk or that they always have milk, regardless of whether they have given birth or not. Some have stated that this is how cows’ bodies work and that they cannot help but produce milk because it is part of their cycle.

“Since childhood, we have been taught in kindergartens and at home that cows ‘give’ milk. That is not true at all. Just as female dogs produce milk for puppies or female cats for kittens, cow’s milk has the same purpose – to feed the calf. “Without a child, there is no mother’s milk, and the entire dairy industry is based on the exploitation of their reproductive system and motherhood,” Animal Friends Croatia point out.

73.4% of citizens do not even know that it is common practice in milk production to take the calf from its mother immediately after birth! Animal Friends Croatia state that this information is skillfully concealed by the dairy industry, for which cows are nothing more than biological machines for obtaining abnormally large quantities of milk. They believe that Belje goes the furthest of all by presenting their cows as queens and accuse them of deceiving the public with their marketing moves and the Kravica Kraljica brand.

It is important to emphasize that, according to the conducted research, as many as 85.1% of respondents believe that it is misleading that dairy products are advertised with the depiction of cows that are happy or live like queens, if in reality they do not!

“Every mother loves their child and every child loves her mother, regardless of race or species. Everyone who says ‘goodbye’ to dairy animal products can play a real and serious role in creating a better world for all beings, i.e. a world where children are not taken from mothers and where someone’s life does not end violently and with the expiry of a production period”, appeals Animal Friends Croatia.

They claim that the results of the survey, according to which 92.1% of respondents do not support the practice of separating calves from their mothers on the same day they are born, are further evidence that the public would more often reach for plant-based milk if they knew what the common practices in the dairy industry are, and that cows are not treated like queens on the farms, as is presented by the labels on the packaging and false depictions of happy cows.

Therefore, Animal Friends Croatia believe that it’s imperative for customers to know the truth about the products they’re buying, and they certainly do not deserve this kind of exaggeration in distorting the real state of the dairy industry’s relationship with cows.

Animal Friends Croatia just published a shocking video with scenes of the separation of mothers and children, filmed on farms in Europe and throughout the World! It is the continuation of the campaign and the reaction to the expected missing reply from company Belje, that were harshly called out last week in a letter about deceiving advertising through brand “Kravica Kraljica”- “Cow Queen”. Association Animal Friends Croatia presented very disturbing facts about the dairy industry and asked for a permission to, at one of the Belje’s dairy farm, film standard procedures after the birth of calf and to allow the public to independently evaluate whether calves are separated from their mothers and if such a treatment is royal.

With the new campaign Animal Friends Croatia do not refer to the conditions in which animals on the farms who provide milk for brand Kravica Kraljica live, but to the indisputable fact that all the milk that reaches their colorful packaging was taken from the calves for which that milk was intended. The videos from other farms show mother cows who unsuccessfully run after their children, newly born calves in isolated boxes, and also shown are the last moments of male calf and cow, filmed in the slaughterhouse. Narration of the video is in child’s voice and as such describes the calf Petra with which Animal Friends Croatia started the whole campaign, and about which you can find more on the homepage.

As they state, newly born calves on the farms that supply the dairy in which products Kravica Kraljica- are immediately separated from the mothers. The separation presents extreme stress to the mothers and to the children. In nature, cows spend up to 14 months with the calf, until it becomes independent. They form strong bonds with them, exchange tenderness and protect them, as same as human mothers do with their children.

Most of the cows on dairy farms are exhausted and their “production period” ends by the fifth year and are then sent to be slaughtered, and parts of their body are used for meat products. Female calves, after they are grown, await the same fate as their mothers: cycle of continuous insemination, giving birth, taking away their children and turning them into the milking machines. The male calves after they are around 20 days old are sent for fattening and the final station for them is, as same as for all dairy industry victims, the slaughterhouse.

„We believe that all would agree that the mentioned procedures, that are the standard practice on all larger farms, cannot be described as “royal”. For crimes such as deprivation of motherhood and taking the children away and the exploitation of cows’ natural bodily processes for the so-called human needs, if performed to humans, could only be life imprisonment. Therefore, it is unethical and humiliating to call enslaved cows royal. This is nothing less than covering up the true treatment towards animals and manipulation of the public”, Animal Friends Croatia state.

The Association adds how they wish for public to know the truth about the circle of hell of forced insemination and taking away the children from the cows, as well as for people to think about turning away from animal milk. That is how they will help the animals, environment and their own health.