07/25/2026
If you saw the recent viral video of young bottle calves flying on a private jet with a celebrity, you probably thought it was cute.
I didn’t. What I saw were calves that should have been with their mothers, and it infuriated and disgusted me.
Most people don’t realize that these bottle babies aren’t orphans or rejected calves. They were intentionally taken from healthy, capable mothers because bottle babies are a quick sell and marketable to celebrities, influencers, and people who are looking for the next viral moment and don’t actually care about animal welfare.
The buyers often don’t know any better. They see an adorable calf and assume they’re supporting responsible breeders.
The people producing these calves know better, but money matters to them more than ethics.
Highland cattle are exceptional mothers. A healthy calf belongs with its dam, learning how to be a cow, not becoming a social media accessory.
The same breeders driving this trend often abandon the fundamentals of good cattle breeding. Instead of selecting for structural correctness, sound conformation, maternal ability, longevity, and functional genetics, they chase whatever novelty will bring the highest price.
Every time one of these videos goes viral, it creates demand for more bottle babies. More healthy calves are separated from their mothers. More cattle are treated like props instead of livestock.
This isn’t preserving the Highland breed; it’s exploiting it.
