Earlier today, four more workers of Chilliwack Cattle Sales—the largest dairy
factory farm in Canada—entered intentions to plead guilty to violating the BC Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act on what was scheduled to be the first of a 12-day
criminal trial. Lloyd
Blackwell, Brad Genereux, Cody Larson, and Jonathan Talbot will admit
that they viciously kicked, punched, and beat cows, and used chains and
tractors to lift sick and injured cows by their necks. They will be sentenced in the next few weeks.
These prosecutions stem from a Mercy For Animals undercover
investigation at Chilliwack Cattle Sales, the largest dairy factory farm in
Canada. Video footage shows Blackwell,
Genereux, Larson, and Talbot sadistically torturing animals.
Watch the footage that led to these convictions here:
The defendants’ pending convictions are four more in a
string of convictions stemming from this groundbreaking investigation. Earlier
this month, the Honorable Justice Gary Cohen sentenced three former Chilliwack
Cattle Sales workers to a total of 127 days in jail and prohibited them from
having custody or control of any animal for a total of seven years. This marked
the
first time in Canadian history that former factory farm workers had been
sentenced to jail for malicious animal abuse exposed through an undercover
investigation by an animal protection group. Last December, in another historic
victory for animals, Chilliwack Cattle Sales and its owner Wesley Kooyman
were convicted of animal cruelty and ordered to pay fines totaling almost $350,000.
The cruelty exposed through MFA’s Chilliwack Cattle Sales
investigation prompted British Columbia’s agricultural minister, Norm Letnick,
to amend the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to incorporate the Dairy
Code of Practice. MFA is calling on all provinces to incorporate the Dairy Code
of Practice into their provincial animal cruelty legislation. Giving the Dairy
Code of Practice the force of law will require the dairy industry to follow
basic minimum standards for animal welfare.
You can act today to protect cows and all animals from needless
suffering and violence by choosing a healthy and humane vegan diet. Click here for ideas on how to go dairy-free!