Cattle have a distinct personalities and highly developed emotions. They also live in herds with a clear hierarchy structure. Under natural conditions, they spend most of the time grazing, during which they cover several kilometres per day. Cattle can live for up to 20 years, however, in commercial beef farming they are slaughtered at an average age of 18 months.
22.6 million dairy cows are kept in the European Union, mostly under terrible conditions. A bull that weighs some 700 kg at the end of the fattening phase usually has two to three squared metres at his disposal. Calves, as by products of the dairy industry also lives miserable, short lives.