Following the explosive release of a recent Mercy For Animals Canada investigation at Canada’s largest dairy factory farm, which exposed criminal cruelty to animals, the BC Milk Marketing Board suspended milk pickup until animal welfare concerns were resolved.
In a statement, the Board said: “Based on the Board’s concern for the ethical treatment of animals, the Board made the decision today to suspend milk pick-up from Chilliwack Cattle Sales, until it is satisfied that all of the animal welfare issues are being addressed appropriately.”
Factory farmers prove over and over that they place profits ahead of animals. This recent move by the Milk Marketing Board should be a wake-up call for all dairy factory farmers that criminally abusing animals will hurt them in the only place they care about: their bottom line.
At this randomly selected dairy factory farm, our undercover investigator documented:
- Workers viciously kicking, punching, beating, and hitting cows in the face and body with chains, canes, metal pipes, and rakes
- Sick and injured cows suffering from open wounds, oozing infections, and
painful injuries left to suffer without proper veterinary care - Workers using chains and tractors to lift sick and injured cows by their necks
- Workers poking and squeezing festering wounds, ripping clumps of hair out of cows’ sensitive tails, and punching bulls in the testicles
Eight workers now face criminal cruelty to animals charges, and the company itself is under investigation for its role in the abuse.
Even if cows on dairy factory farms weren’t routinely subjected to abuse and neglect, their lives are still filled with misery and deprivation. Mother cows are repeatedly impregnated to induce lactation and their babies are stolen away at birth. These nurturing mothers mourn the loss of their confused, lonely babies, who become veal or future dairy cows. After relentless back-to-back pregnancies, dairy cows’ bodies give out after only about a quarter of their natural life span and they are sent to slaughterhouses.
Thankfully, it has never been easier to ditch cruel dairy. Check out these dairy-free and delicious options, then sign our petition calling on dairy giant Saputo to ensure all of its suppliers have meaningful animal welfare standards in place. But don’t stop there: here are even more ways to help cows.
