In the dairy industry, mother cows relive the same nightmare over and over again—being ripped away from their newborn babies after giving birth. It’s time to change this heartbreaking cycle.

Cows need to give birth in order to produce milk, just like humans. So the dairy industry forcibly impregnates them—and then takes away their newborn calves, causing deep emotional distress for both mother and baby. Mother cows have been filmed crying out in anguish and even giving chase when their babies are taken away from them.

Meanwhile, the calves are viewed as nothing more than “byproducts.” Males are either slaughtered at birth or raised for veal—kept in solitary confinement in a tiny cage, and killed at just a few weeks old. Female calves are raised for dairy, facing the same cycle of suffering that their mothers did.

Itdoesn’thavetobethisway.

For one family of cows, the cycle of suffering finally ended at Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary. One resident, a 14-year-old dairy cow named Mama Joy, now enjoys the peaceful life she deserves after years of heartrending separation from her babies. When three calves (known as the “Cowboys”) were brought to Sale Ranch from the same dairy farm, Mama Joy adopted them as her own.

“We had an amazing opportunity to create a family for these little Cowboys,” says the founder, Jen Sale, “but also to help Mama Joy heal her heart—because she was never allowed to be with her babies.”

It just takes looking into a cow’s eyes to know that she’s a deeply emotional, intelligent being. Just like human mothers, cows are flooded with oxytocin after birth, forging a powerful bond between mother and baby.

If you believe families belong together, join thousands of people in taking a stand against the cruel separation of mother and baby cows. Will you sign the pledge?