Protests against Tidöpartierna’s plans to limit cows’ grazing rights – Natursidan

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Representatives from Greenpeace and Djurens Rätt visit a large cow farm outside Uppsala to inform the visitors that KD, SD, LRF and Arla are pushing to abolish dairy cows’ statutory right to go out and graze. Image: © Johanna Hanno / Greenpeace

In 2023, the government set up an investigation with the goal of “strengthening the competitiveness of agriculture and protecting animal welfare”. It was presented as part of the Tidö agreement and also contained directives that the possibility of dairy cows grazing in the summer should be investigated.

– Through the investigation, we can understand that the government is only proposing increased animal protection at EU level in order to shirk national responsibility. The government uses it as a cover to remove the grazing requirement – something that we have long seen as an obvious part of Swedish animal protection, says Matilda Antti, political expert at Djurens Rätt.

Plan: Take away the grazing rights

Today’s News have found further evidence of the plans. Two independent sources have confirmed to the newspaper that there is an advanced discussion about removing grazing rights for free-ranging dairy cows indoors. This is also something that LRF and Arla driveamong other things with one criticized experiment where 1500 cows are kept locked up for 18 months to study how they are affected.

For many bulls in Sweden, this confined life is already a reality. Almost half of all bulls raised on Swedish farms are never allowed to graze. They stand in stables their whole lives.

40,000 signatures in a short time

The plans to also lock up the dairy cows face strong criticism. Sweden’s environmental and animal associations, together with several consumer associations and the Swedish Veterinary Association, have launched the campaign page jagvillbeta.nu which in a short time collected approximately 40,000 signatures in protest against the government’s, SD’s and LRF’s plans. The organizations have also written a joint debate article in SVD where they, among other things, call on the government to stand up for Swedish added value and maintain and develop the grazing requirement.

Sweden must stand up for the added value Swedish agriculture creates, and not adapt to other countries’ minimum level. The positive aspects of agriculture need to be strengthened, not eroded.

Action during cow release

During Saturday Greenpeace and Animal Rights also carried out an action during a cow run in Uppland. They held up banners, informed visitors and collected names against the deterioration of the cows.

– We are here to inform people that the dairy cows’ right to come out and graze is now threatened by LRF, KD and large dairy companies such as Arla, who want to enable further industrialization of animal husbandry and allow more cows to be confined all year round. From the conversations I had with visitors here during the day, it is clear that most want to preserve the cows’ right to graze, and almost no one knew that parts of the dairy industry are pushing to abolish this part of the animal welfare law, says Erika Bjureby, head of Greenpeace in Sweden.

A couple of hundred visitors immediately signed a petition to preserve the grazing requirement and give all cattle the right to graze. Image: © Rasmus Törnqvist / Greenpeak

The investigation “Strong competitiveness for food producers and strong animal protection” is to be submitted to the government in June.

– The grazing requirement should be developed instead of phased out, and all cows should be given the opportunity to graze outdoors. Dairy giants like Arla should realize that it would seriously damage their trust with consumers if they join and abolish the cows’ right to graze in the summer. Especially since almost all marketing for Swedish dairy products, including cow’s lips, is based on the image that dairy cows’ lives consist of going out to graze on green meadows, says Erika Bjureby.

The Astrid Lindgren Act is under threat

Currently, it is a requirement that Swedish dairy cows must at least be allowed to graze outdoors for 2-4 months during the summer. The law was given as an 80th birthday present to Astrid Lindgren and is therefore sometimes called the Astrid Lindgren law.

Nor does the Swedish Board of Agriculture think it is appropriate to remove the grazing requirement. In 2019, it was written like this:
“As we see it, the grazing requirement is too important an animal welfare and animal health issue for it to be removed and replaced with free-range animal husbandry. The grazing requirement also entails other advantages for e.g. open pastures that cannot be achieved if animals in free-ranging systems are exempted from grazing requirements.”

Sources: Today’s News, SVD, Animal rights and Greenpeace