Published August 18, 2026 by PETA Staff.

Great news! The New York State Fair has decided to “pause” its longstanding cow birthing display at this year’s fair.

For years, the fair has turned one of life’s most intimate moments into a public spectacle. Pregnant cows were hauled to the fairgrounds, placed on display, and expected to give birth before gawking crowds. Since 2013, more than 400 calves have reportedly been born as part of the exhibit.

PETA is asking New York State Fair Director Julie LaFave to make the pause permanent.

The New York State Fair’s Dairy Cow Birthing Center presents a sanitized version of dairy farming while glossing over the suffering that is inherent in the industry. Cows seek out quiet, secluded places away from the herd when they are preparing to give birth. At the fair, they were instead transported late in pregnancy to an unfamiliar environment filled with crowds, noise, lights, and constant activity, with no opportunity to choose a private place to labor.

Cows are devoted mothers who form deep bonds with their calves, but the babies born at the fair exhibit are reduced to attractions, displayed briefly before being removed from their mothers. This traumatic separation reflects the dairy industry’s routine practice of taking calves away shortly after birth so that the milk meant for them can be sold to humans.

The fair’s 2026 pause presents a great opportunity. Rather than bringing the exhibit back next year, fair officials can opt for an animal-free option, such as an AI-powered robotic calf like PETA’s Charli XC, which engages visitors, sparks curiosity, and encourages learning without subjecting pregnant cows and calves to chaos and stress. PETA sweetened the ask by offering to hand out free vegan ice cream to visitors at a future fair to give fairgoers a taste of kinder options—if LaFave agrees to keep live-birth exhibits off the schedule.

It’s time to retire the birthing exhibit permanently.

How You Can Help Cows

• Refuse to support live-animal birth exhibits or any other display that exploits animals.
• Choose delicious vegan foods instead of dairy.
• Take action to help end suffering in the dairy industry: