Newly published in the Journal of Dairy Science is an article by Beth Ventura and colleagues with UBC’s Animal Welfare Program describing attitudes toward the common practice of separating the dairy cow and calf and birth. Results suggest that this practice is a highly contentious. Opponents of early separation contended that it is emotionally stressful for the calf and cow, it compromises calf and cow health, it is unnatural, and the industry can and should accommodate cow-calf pairs. Supporters of early separation reasoned that emotional distress is minimized by separating before bonds develop, that it promotes calf and cow health, and that the industry is limited in its ability to accommodate cow-calf pairs.