Citing Mercy For
Animals’ groundbreaking undercover investigation exposing sadistic animal abuse at Canada’s largest dairy factory farm, the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board
has ordered all B.C. dairy farms to comply with Canada’s Code of Practice for
the Care and Handling of Dairy Cows. As the regulator for all milk production
in the province, the B.C. Milk Marketing Board has the authority to ensure all
dairy farms are in compliance with these animal welfare standards.
This important new regulation
is in direct response to MFA’s hidden-camera video footage showing dairy
workers viciously kicking, punching, and beating cows, hitting them with metal pipes and canes, and leaving sick
and injured animals to suffer without proper veterinary care.
Under the now-mandatory
code of practice, all dairy farmers in British Columbia must adhere to a set of
meaningful standards. Farms will be audited and those failing to comply with
the standards could have their milk licenses revoked. This will effectively
shut down abusive facilities. The code of practice includes a number of
important standards, including but not limited to:
· A prohibition on the cruel practice of tail docking, which involves cutting through the sensitive skin, nerves, and tailbone of cattle without painkillers· Pain control used when dehorning or disbudding, painful mutilations that have historically been performed without any anesthetic or analgesic· Prompt veterinary care for sick or injured animals and the proper use of appropriate lifting devices to gently help “downer cattle to their feet· Clean bedding for cow comfort and warmth as well as housing that allows cattle to easily stand up, lie down, and engage in natural behaviors
This first step to
protect cows in British Columbia demonstrates important progress that should
lead the way for every other provincial milk regulator in Canada to adopt and
enforce meaningful welfare standards. It also sets an important precedent for
all codes of practice to become law in the future.
Watch the undercover
investigation that led to these important changes here:
While MFA continues
to go head-to-head with the factory farming industry to end some of the worst
forms of farmed animal abuse, the best way for individual consumers to help
stop needless cruelty to animals is to adopt a compassionate vegan diet. Please
visit ChooseVeg.com to
learn more.