A baby cow is torn from its distressed mother and left to die alone in a pen. A dairy cow already in pain is kicked and roughly handled. A lame cow is hoisted into the air, another dragged along the floor, others left with bleeding wounds.

These are just some of the shocking scenes filmed by undercover animal rights activists at farms across Britain owned by members of the Arla co-operative that supplies Morrisons and other supermarkets. Arla has launched an “urgent” investigation. Tesco suspended supplies from some farms, while also stating that some footage in the investigation related to farms it did not buy from. 

Jenny Mace, an independent animal welfare expert, identified more than 360 potential welfare breaches, including 50 lameness cases, in footage taken by the Animal Justice Project (AJP) across 10 farms within Arla assurance schemes, as detailed in her new report for the campaigners.

Investigation

She 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.”

Professor Andrew Knight, a veterinarian, said: “Having reviewed this footage, I’m deeply concerned by what it shows. Cows too weak to stand are hoisted by their hips, dragged across concrete and left with open wounds, apparently without the veterinary assessment and nursing care that basic welfare standards require. 

“Animals already in pain are kicked and roughly handled. Calves are removed from their distressed mothers within hours of birth, and some die alone in their pens. 

“This is not one bad farm. Similar failures appear on farm after farm, all within Arla’s assurance schemes. Consumers are told these cows are well cared for. This footage suggests the system is failing the animals it claims to protect.”

Arla has launched an investigation into the alleged welfare breaches on farms owned by its members. These include at least three farms that supply Tesco - Kingston Hill Farm in Oxfordshire; Oak Lodge Farm in Leicestershire and Bramley Farm in Northamptonshire - and two that supply Morrisons - Longlands Farm in Dorset and Church Farm, including the Riverside Dairy, in Bedfordshire.

Suspend

But AJP today said the supermarkets should not just rely on Arla’s investigation into its own farms. The campaigners pointed out that the owners of some of the farms were also senior representatives for the cooperative, including at least one board director. This creates “a clear conflict of interest”.

Tesco and Morrisons should instead immediately disclose which Arla farms supply their own-brand milk, suspend sourcing from the farms where apparent abuses have been filmed, commission fully independent investigations and introduce camera-verified welfare monitoring across their dairy supply chains. 

Claire Palmer, founder and executive director of Animal Justice Project, said: “Arla can’t mark its own homework.

“Shoppers trust supermarkets to stand behind the welfare promises on their shelves. Tesco and Morrisons can’t outsource their responsibility to the very company whose board director and senior representatives run farms in our investigation.

“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.”

Respect

Palmer raised concerns about Arla’s own assurance system. Its 2025 Annual Report says 99.8 per cent of audited farmer owners had “no major mobility issues”, she said. But a farm is only recorded as having a major mobility issue when more than 15 per cent of its cows are lame, and routine welfare audits take place only once every three years. 

Paul Burr, president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (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."

Morrisons claims in its animal welfare policy that its commitment is to ensure “every animal in our supplier network is treated with care and respect and is content”, and says it has a “zero tolerance approach” to breaches of its welfare standards.

The supermarket claims that animal welfare standards form an audited part of supplier agreements. Under its own dairy welfare policy, farmers supplying its fresh milk must monitor and report lameness, mastitis, body condition, cow comfort, cleanliness and injuries.

Sentient

Morrisons has also claimed that Arla has full visibility of this data to help identify welfare concerns and improve farm performance, and that it monitors dairy cows to ensure their welfare is not compromised, regardless of housing systems.

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "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 claims in its 2025/26 Sustainability Report that its animal welfare commitment is to “[t]reat all animals in our supply chain humanely at all life stages”. 

All supplying farms must comply with recognised assurance schemes, such as Red Tractor, alongside Tesco’s own additional welfare requirements, according to the supermarket’s 2024/25 Animal Health and Welfare Report. The policy recognises animals as sentient beings and the welfare measures should cover feeding, housing, health, handling and behaviour. 

Standards

Tesco also claims that members of its Sustainable Dairy Group and Sustainable Cheese Group undergo independent farm-level assessments against key welfare targets, including measures relating to lameness, to monitor performance and make improvements.

A spokesperson for 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 the farms have been suspended while we thoroughly investigate. 

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.

 “We are committed to working with our farmers and suppliers to drive continued improvements in animal welfare through independently auditing all our own brand suppliers against our stringent Tesco Welfare Assured standards, and working with farm assurance schemes to agree industry-wide improvements.”

A spokesperson for 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.”

This Author

Brendan Montague is an editor at The Ecologist online. This article is based on information provided in a press release by the Animal Justice Project.