Table A1.

Comments from 61 dairy cattle farmers sending pregnant animals to slaughter in Denmark in October 2017, sorted by estimated gestation month of the oldest foetus delivered from the herd. Statements in [] are comments from authors. Comments are translated from Danish.

ID	Comments to the Question: What is your attitude towards sending pregnant animals for slaughter?
Second month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
1	Deep down, I don’t like sending pregnant animals for slaughter but we have had health problems after mixing animals of different herds, with the introduction of mycoplasma to our herd, so we need to control this disease.
2	Normally, I don’t like sending pregnant animals for slaughter, but they had been with the bull and were not more than two months pregnant, because the bull entered their premises on 15 August [slaughtered 19 October]. Previously, we sent one cow in the very last part of gestation because we thought she was not pregnant. We were fined and learned from that, so now we always examine if in doubt whether they might be at the end of pregnancy.
3	I trust that the authorities put together reasonable rules for me to stick to, so that the animals do not suffer. Normally, we don’t slaughter many pregnant animals, and we should not slaughter animals far into pregnancy, but we had too many animals on the farm compared to the number we were allowed to have.
4	It is a problem if it is close to calving, but non-pregnant animals can cause a lot of unrest, so we try to prevent that. But we slaughter the pregnant [heifer] before it is too late.
Third month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
5	Have just taken over the farm, and there was a lot of unrest in the herd—especially among the older cows. Have slaughtered two cows within a short period, probably as a consequence of this unrest; good cows that suddenly lay with broken legs. Therefore, we have started inseminating all cows, including high somatic cell count cows that are heading for slaughter. When they are inseminated, the milk yield decreases and therefore they are culled. Actually, it goes against my previous philosophy, but I prefer to have cattle that do not harm each other.
6	We should avoid sending pregnant animals for slaughter. It is a pity to inseminate a cow and not take advantage of it. Generally, cows are not given a cull code if they have a positive pregnancy diagnosis. I think that the last 10th of gestation is too late and I think it could be tightened.
7	I do not care at all.
8	We do not inseminate cows destined for culling, but you never know what can happen to the rest. If they are diseased, you have to cull them. I haven’t experienced particular problems with unrest, even if they are not inseminated. They are Jerseys, and I have only experienced unrest among the Holsteins.
9	We aim not to slaughter in late gestation, but within the first three to five months there is little concern. We consequently inseminate all animals and subsequently sort. You cannot predict the future of a cow, and she can become diseased or her milk production can cease.
Fourth month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
10	In my world, the animals are here to produce milk and calves. But we stick to the law and should make sure it doesn’t get any stricter, because the calves do not suffer.
11	It is against my principles to slaughter pregnant animals, but the somatic cell count went up and down. Even if she produced a lot of milk, we chose slaughter in this case.
12	My mother checks if the rules are kept by going through the papers when I provide her with a list of planned cull cattle. I think that the rules are fair. I don’t think it is fair to the cow to keep her for the entire pregnancy if, for example, she has mastitis. It is better to cull her if she has health problems.
13	In general, I am against sending pregnant animals for slaughter when we are close to calving. I am an organic farmer so I cannot medicate the animals myself after calving, and I was afraid she would need treatment, and that would affect her milk yield.
14	The Danish rules are acceptable, but it will be difficult if the German rules with no culling in the last third of gestation are introduced. It is sufficient that you cannot slaughter in the last month. In nature, if a wolf takes the cow, it doesn’t ask if she is pregnant! We inseminate for two reasons: partly to have calm cows—otherwise, the cows in heat will tear everything apart—and partly to produce a new calf. But a lot of things can happen between insemination and calving: she could suffer an injury and then it is better that she is slaughtered.
15	I probably act like in Germany: one month before dry-off (that is 2/3 into gestation) is the last chance for me to assess whether she can complete the pregnancy. A pregnancy is a tough process. But the first time I assess whether a cow should be culled is prior to insemination.
16	I only slaughter pregnant animals if something is wrong with them, as in the present case, where we couldn’t milk her [the cow had trauma to one teat].
17	When calving is getting too close, then it is a problem, but early in pregnancy it is OK. A non-pregnant animal destined for slaughter can also cause a lot of trouble.
18	I have suckler cows and I would not have sufficient space for her in winter if she became sick. I only cull pregnant animals if they have health problems, and it should be done early as with this one, which was around four months into gestation. But if there is a crisis in a farm, then the banks require us to slaughter cows right to the last legal date [this refers to farms put under administration by a bank due to financial problems]. I have just experienced that, and I don’t like it; a new farmer should be allowed to take over a herd rather than sending it for slaughter.
19	It is okay if it is early in gestation. Normally, I do not slaughter cattle if they are pregnant. It is a bit difficult. But if they have health problems, then it has to be done.
20	It would be better if they weren’t pregnant when sent to slaughter, but we do it if they are sick. Slaughter of cattle up to four weeks before calving—that is too late. We do have problems with restless cows “jumping around” if they are not inseminated, but we just have to live with that.
21	We stick to the law, because we shouldn’t slaughter right up to calving. We should also be able to slaughter a cow with problems that mean she will suffer.
22	We don’t slaughter cows in the last third of gestation: only if they have a negative pregnancy diagnosis. We have had one with a negative pregnancy diagnosis, and this cow turned out to be pregnant and we got fined. Normally we will—if in doubt—have a pregnancy test done before slaughter.
23	I wouldn’t slaughter cows at the end of pregnancy, not even as far into gestation as is allowed. I find it ethically wrong, and I would not risk being fined. If the cows are not far into pregnancy, then it is okay. I inseminate to maintain a calm herd, but then I often cull when they have calved.
24	I don’t feel good about it, but if a cow has problems lasting until the next lactation, then I would rather cull her. It is like choosing between “plague or cholera”.
Fifth month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
25	We are expanding, so we keep all the animals we can. But our culled cows produced no milk, weighed 800 kg, and were very large when they were only three months into gestation. I find it extreme that you can slaughter a cow up to 250 days into pregnancy. It should not be more than 200 days. When the foetus can survive, the pregnant cow should not be slaughtered.
26	If they are not too far into pregnancy, then it is not a problem to slaughter. But we avoid sending cows for slaughter far into pregnancy.
27	We never inseminate cows that we plan to slaughter. However, sometimes things happen so we have to slaughter a cow anyway. In the present case, the cow was culled because she was not pregnant, which turned out to not be correct. That is a pity.
28	A few times over the last 10 years we assessed that a cow could not survive calving even if she was close to dry-off. Otherwise, we don’t slaughter cows far into pregnancy. We do not inseminate cows that we do not believe can endure having another calf. Calving is a large burden. I would be annoyed with myself if I were not able to correctly assess whether a cow could endure the burden of giving birth to a calf.
29	This cow was only three months pregnant; I always check. In general, pregnant cows should not be sent for slaughter, but a decision can be changed if there are health problems such as with the legs, the udder, or other problems. We pride ourselves on having high animal welfare and doing the right thing, but it is not always easy when there are dilemmas such as pregnancy versus health.
30	If they are too far into pregnancy (i.e., no later than drying off eight at weeks before calving), then we do not slaughter them.
31	The attitude is that they are not slaughtered if more than halfway through pregnancy. Then, I have to be better at assessing which to cull. However, they are slaughtered if something serious happens. I do not inseminate to have a calmer herd: I don’t like that and I cannot manage it.
32	I don’t like sending pregnant animals for slaughter, only if there is a good reason such as health problems with bad legs. I don’t want to kill a foetus, and we normally make the cull decision before we inseminate for the same reason.
Sixth month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
33	It is not something that I normally do: only if there are health problems or milk production has ceased.
34	I prefer not to slaughter pregnant animals unless there is a health problem such as lameness.
35	As long as we are within the legal boundaries, then it is OK when we look at health. It is difficult to manage from a welfare point of view if we cannot slaughter a cow with lameness or mastitis, which are conditions that would otherwise end with euthanasia anyway. Then, it is better to slaughter them early. If your challenge merely is that you have too many animals, then you shouldn’t slaughter the pregnant ones.
36	It is a bit of a dilemma. Generally, we inseminate all the cows, because they would otherwise romp about and we would have too much unrest with injuries as a consequence.
37	I often inseminate to maintain a calmer herd, but it is rare that I cull animals late in gestation. Four weeks before calving is too late. It is better at two months or 12 weeks. Otherwise, we seriously consider whether she has to go. Then, we have to get the veterinarian to write a transport certificate.
38	I can see that one probably shouldn’t do it, but if they have poor legs, then it is okay. Otherwise, you should euthanise on the premises, but then nothing has been gained. Furthermore, at times we have doubts about how far into pregnancy she is, but a pregnancy diagnosis far into gestation can be challenging when assessing the gestation period.
39	We strive not to slaughter animals far into gestation, whereas we pay less attention to those early in gestation. Normally, we do not slaughter in the last half of gestation. If they are to be culled, then they are normally not inseminated. However, in cases with pronounced signs of heat, we may inseminate, but it is not very often.
40	When we slaughter animals, they are almost all pregnant, because we do not know which cows should be culled. It is only at dry-off that we assess whether a cow should stay in the herd. We inseminate all the animals to have a calmer herd. Otherwise, we have 10–15 cows in heat “jumping around”. That results in a lot of injuries.
41	I would prefer to avoid sending pregnant animals for slaughter, but we do not want to keep a cow that is affected by poor health. If it is a cow in good health, then in my view, slaughter in the last third of gestation could be banned.
Seventh month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
42	I would prefer to avoid sending pregnant animals for slaughter, but we are a production facility. We do not know what will happen to a cow after she has been inseminated, but we inseminate to keep the production going by producing calves.
43	We have a milk production, and therefore focus on cows producing milk. We prefer to not slaughter pregnant animals.
44	I do not feel good about sending pregnant animals for slaughter. It is a waste, especially if they are 6–7 months into gestation, but you have to take their health into account.
45	We never slaughter cows in the last two months of gestation: it is rarely done once they are dried off, which happens around eight weeks prior to calving. We inseminate all the animals, primarily to maintain a calm herd, but also because a decision to cull a cow can be reversed if she manages the lactation well, while another doesn’t perform as well.
46	We try to avoid sending pregnant animals for slaughter, although it does happen early in pregnancy. I don’t really think it was ideal with this one, which was half a year into pregnancy. Actually, I think 250 days into gestation it is too late to allow slaughter.
47	Normally, we do not send pregnant animals to slaughter unless there is a reason such as with these ones [one was a cow with only two productive teats after recurrent Escherichia coli mastitis, and the other produced very limited milk and according to experience would get fat and then diseased]. We avoid restless cows by insemination, but cows destined for culling are not inseminated.
48	The only thing that interests me in this regard is how far they are into pregnancy. Seventy percent of my cows are pregnant, and if we cull them no later than 60–80 days before calving, then it is fine. Every three weeks, the cows in heat “jump around” if they are not pregnant, and that causes unrest and injuries.
49	There must be an extraordinarily good reason such as accidents or injury to slaughter a cow in the last third of gestation—otherwise she should be kept. As a rule, one should keep pregnant animals—that is what it is all about!
50	As a rule, pregnant animals should not be slaughtered, especially outside the limits of the law. We only inseminate those that we don’t plan to cull, but it is possible that they then have a health problem that necessitates their culling. We do not cull pregnant cows just because production is affected or to get a calmer herd, because there are always others that should be culled sooner.
51	We do not slaughter pregnant cows: this was an emergency. We thought it a shame that she should start the next lactation with ketosis, because experience tells us that if she ceases to produce milk early, then she will be a problem cow with ketosis in the next lactation.
52	We try to avoid sending pregnant cows for slaughter—we have had a lot of focus on that in the past three years. We do not inseminate cows that we plan to cull, but in cases of acute disease, it can be necessary to cull them. We are very focused on not culling pregnant animals, and we do not have problems with unrest in the herd—even if they are not inseminated.
53	I don’t like sending animals to slaughter if they are pregnant. If it happens, then they shouldn’t be more than five to six months into gestation. Preferably, it shouldn’t happen at all.
Eighth month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
54	When they are far into pregnancy like this one, then it is not good, but early in pregnancy is fine. It is preferable to have a calm herd with pregnant animals, whereas it causes a lot of unrest if they are in heat every third week. Recently, we had to euthanise a cow after slipping following unrest in the herd.
55	It is ethically wrong. I feel bad about it. But if they do not milk well, and there is still a long time until calving, then they are slaughtered. It is not ethically correct, but what should one do?
56	I haven’t given it much thought, but I guess it is acceptable, as long as it is not within the last four weeks before calving.
57	It is a pity to slaughter pregnant animals, but if there are health problems, then the opportunity to cull should be present. Following a discussion with the veterinarian, it was decided that these two should be culled, as it was assessed that they couldn’t endure one more lactation. It is a good slaughter limit we currently have.
58	We generally choose cows for slaughter early in lactation, so they are not inseminated. However, I prefer to be able to cull cows if they turn out to be unable to endure another lactation.
59	I just took over herd management from my previous manager who bought his own farm. I started by culling the animals in the poorest health. They shouldn’t have been inseminated, and I will not inseminate animals that are to be culled, as happened here. It is possible though that some animals are inseminated, and then something happens that makes slaughter a necessity. Unrest within the herd is also possible if there are too many non-pregnant animals that are in heat and injure each other when they “jump around”. However, there is also a cost to insemination, so we rarely inseminate these.
Ninth month of gestation (estimated for oldest foetus of the herd)
60	We would rather not slaughter pregnant animals, but at times, it can be necessary for reasons related to health or production. Today, we had an emergency slaughter of a pregnant cow with a broken leg.
61	In the first half of gestation it is okay, but no later than that. We send 250–300 females to slaughter each year and all are examined, but it can happen that one is missed. It costs DKK 5000 [around €670 in January 2019] the first time, and DKK 15,000 [around €2000 in January 2019] the second time. The penalty is bigger than gangsters’ “stupidity” fines.