Abuse Uncovered in Dairy Farm

[mimimomo]

WARNING: This video may be extremely disturbing to some.

Alleged abuse uncovered at dairy farm | HLNtv.com

Just-released video from Mercy for Animals' latest undercover investigation shows workers at a New Mexico dairy farm kicking, punching, throwing, and shocking cows. The farm, Winchester Dairy released the following statement:

"At Winchester Dairy, animal care and well-being is central to our operations. Upon reviewing the footage of the animal abuse at our farm, Winchester immediately initiated an internal investigation and, in response, have:
· Terminated all employees and referred the abusive employees to law enforcement for further review;
· Dispersed the farm’s dairy cows to other dairy farms with strong track records in animal welfare within hours of the video being received;
· Stopped shipment of the farm’s milk to all vendors;
· Closed the farm’s operations, effective immediately.
We remain committed to the ethical and responsible treatment of the animals and have learned from this incident."

The New Mexico Livestock Board has opened an investigation. In a statement, they told us:

"The New Mexico Livestock Board (NMLB) takes allegations of animal cruelty very seriously. After reviewing the video, NMLB immediately went to the dairy in question and began to investigate the actions of the workers in the video. The owners of the dairy are cooperating fully with NMLB’s investigation."

Winchester Dairy supplies milk to Leprino Foods, the world's largest producer of mozzarella cheese. They released the following statement:

"Leprino Foods cares deeply about the health and welfare of the animals on the farms that supply our milk. As soon as our cooperative supplier was informed about the abuse on one of these dairies, ALL SHIPMENTS FROM THAT FARM WERE TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY. LEPRINO FOODS IS NOT RECEIVING ANY MILK FROM THIS OPERATION. We take these situations extremely seriously and are extremely repulsed by these events. The actions depicted in the video are appalling and unacceptable. Leprino Foods Company prides itself in providing an uncompromising commitment to high-quality real cheese, and the milk must be supplied to us by farmers who share our commitment to the highest level of animal health and wellness.
This isolated incident does not reflect the daily care and comfort that New Mexico dairy farmers provide their cows. The farm has taken quick and decisive action. Information about the incident was immediately shared by the farm owner with the proper New Mexico authorities, who are conducting an investigation so that the individuals responsible can be held accountable for their actions."

Jane speaks to Nathan Runkle, Executive Director of Mercy for Animals about this horrifying abuse caught on tape.

[Buster Brown]

I am glad the companies reacted so strongly once they saw the video....just wish they would be as aggressive checking the standards of their farms.

[Wylie's Mom]

I read about this in my email from MFA, but thank you SO much for posting this!!

It's so very important that we don't all keep our heads in the sand regarding what happens out there at many, many factory farms...we must keep the awareness UP so that we can all put our collective energy towards change in the future...where we someday treat these animals with respect, care, and reverence...after all, they give up their lives for us to have food and I think we owe them the correct type of respectful care in return. All living being should be treated w/ a modicum of respect and without cruelty or torture.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I read about this in my email from MFA, but thank you SO much for posting this!!

It's so very important that we don't all keep our heads in the sand regarding what happens out there at many, many factory farms...we must keep the awareness UP so that we can all put our collective energy towards change in the future...where we someday treat these animals with respect, care, and reverence...after all, they give up their lives for us to have food and I think we owe them the correct type of respectful care in return. All living being should be treated w/ a modicum of respect and without cruelty or torture.

I agree with this so much. What's wrong with people that they would need to abuse animals purposefully?

Too chicken to watch the video.

[mimimomo]

I wonder about people that work in the animal food industry...they must not be animal lovers in the 1st place, they see animals as food, nothing more. How can they treat them that way & abuse them??? Monsters.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

I wonder about people that work in the animal food industry...they must not be animal lovers in the 1st place, they see animals as food, nothing more. How can they treat them that way & abuse them??? Monsters.

I wonder about that too its like they work with the animals every day and they have lost their humanity towards them. I saw a situation I really wished I wouldnt have seen this weekend. We have horse drawn carriages that take people on tours of our downtown. We saw this one carriage with a horse going to slow and as we passed him you could visably see he was tired he was going so slow and his head was down and that carriage driver had to see it and should have let him be done so he could rest. I care so much for animals to see them treated so cruelly.

[jessie1718]

I work in a farming community and most people who work with farm animals do not see them as living creatures, just product/money.

I got into an argument with a farmer because he refused to understand why I think animals raised for food need to be treated with respect. I used the analogy of dogs... in some Asian countries people eat dogs and they don't see anything wrong with it. He agreed that eating dogs is disgusting. This is something that is condemned in the United States because we as a society see dogs differently. I then asked him why he thought that a pig which is a highly intelligent animal deserved any less respect than his dog. He couldn't answer me.

I went on a blind date with another farmer who knew I was a huge animal lover. He decided to tell me over dinner that he doesn't like it when PETA says they shouldn't push cows with a skid steer. He stated that when a cow fell it wasn't getting back up because it was sick or something to that extent. I asked him why they pushed the cow with a skid steer while it was still alive instead of putting it to sleep before moving the animal. His answer was that the truckers who came to pick up the cows liked to kill them themselves. Needless to say I didn't finish my dinner.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by jessie1718

I work in a farming community and most people who work with farm animals do not see them as living creatures, just product/money.

I got into an argument with a farmer because he refused to understand why I think animals raised for food need to be treated with respect. I used the analogy of dogs... in some Asian countries people eat dogs and they don't see anything wrong with it. He agreed that eating dogs is disgusting. This is something that is condemned in the United States because we as a society see dogs differently. I then asked him why he thought that a pig which is a highly intelligent animal deserved any less respect than his dog. He couldn't answer me.

I went on a blind date with another farmer who knew I was a huge animal lover. He decided to tell me over dinner that he doesn't like it when PETA says they shouldn't push cows with a skid steer. He stated that when a cow fell it wasn't getting back up because it was sick or something to that extent. I asked him why they pushed the cow with a skid steer while it was still alive instead of putting it to sleep before moving the animal. His answer was that the truckers who came to pick up the cows liked to kill them themselves. Needless to say I didn't finish my dinner.

Wow...thanks so much for such an honest description of what so many commercial farmers really think of animals. Most of us know this already, but it's always helpful to hear from those who have lived it directly. Thank you for confirming that we truly do have *such* a long way to go - bc that's the truth of it. And until we face the ugly truth of it - no change can really occur.

[Doodlebug]

Thanks for posting this. I couldn't watch it. I can't believe how some people treat a living, breathing, feeling animal. Shame on them. I hope they get what they deserve.

[Yorkiemom1]

I read an article on AOL today about owning a dog and walking it or taking it out in public....that results in a huge fine plus a public lashing, and they take the dog and either put it in a zoo or banish it to a desert.....seems it is against the health laws governing that country....dogs are considered filthy and they do not want them exposed to the public.

[Yorkiemom1]

This is the article:
"Dog lovers in Iran could face up to 74 lashes under plans by hardline politicians that would ban keeping the pets at home or walking them in public.

A draft bill, signed by 32 members of the country's conservative-dominated parliament, would also authorise heavy fines for offenders, the reformist Shargh newspaper reported.

Dogs are regarded as unclean under Islamic custom.

They are not common in Iran, although some families do keep them behind closed doors, especially in more affluent areas, walk them outside.

Iran's morality police, who deploy in public places, have previously stopped dog walkers and either cautioned them or confiscated the animals."

This would be a good thing to know for anyone traveling to this country to live/work....dont take your pet!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by jessie1718

I work in a farming community and most people who work with farm animals do not see them as living creatures, just product/money.

I got into an argument with a farmer because he refused to understand why I think animals raised for food need to be treated with respect. I used the analogy of dogs... in some Asian countries people eat dogs and they don't see anything wrong with it. He agreed that eating dogs is disgusting. This is something that is condemned in the United States because we as a society see dogs differently. I then asked him why he thought that a pig which is a highly intelligent animal deserved any less respect than his dog. He couldn't answer me.

I went on a blind date with another farmer who knew I was a huge animal lover. He decided to tell me over dinner that he doesn't like it when PETA says they shouldn't push cows with a skid steer. He stated that when a cow fell it wasn't getting back up because it was sick or something to that extent. I asked him why they pushed the cow with a skid steer while it was still alive instead of putting it to sleep before moving the animal. His answer was that the truckers who came to pick up the cows liked to kill them themselves. Needless to say I didn't finish my dinner.

People like that need to be put away, I don't believe that their abuse stops with animals. I'm just sick to read this.

[Buster Brown]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

This is the article:
"Dog lovers in Iran could face up to 74 lashes under plans by hardline politicians that would ban keeping the pets at home or walking them in public.

A draft bill, signed by 32 members of the country's conservative-dominated parliament, would also authorise heavy fines for offenders, the reformist Shargh newspaper reported.

Dogs are regarded as unclean under Islamic custom.

They are not common in Iran, although some families do keep them behind closed doors, especially in more affluent areas, walk them outside.

Iran's morality police, who deploy in public places, have previously stopped dog walkers and either cautioned them or confiscated the animals."

This would be a good thing to know for anyone traveling to this country to live/work....dont take your pet!

I get sadder and sadder the more I learn about people. I remember being told in my 20's that life is meant to be lived and not understood which angered me at the time. I felt that with knowledge and effort I could understand life. I now realize that they were right. There are some people and their actions that I will never understand. In the 60's we thought we could make a better world, sadly there are some people we will never be able to reach.