His farm described as a “vision of hell, a farmer in the United Kingdom was jailed after he left 170 cows in squalid conditions, causing three to die.
Following several inspections of his farm, Edmund Draper Kane was brought before the Southampton Magistrates’ Court on charges of animal abuse. Inspectors had notified the court when they found that Kane had left his cows in filthy conditions, suffering without water or bedding. Many cows were found lying in their own feces unable to stand. Kane pleaded guilty to 13 charges of “causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, not meeting the suitable environments for an animal and failing to comply with bovine responsibilities.
Kane faces 12 weeks in jail and has been ordered to pay fines of 5,000 pounds (approximately $6,500), and he is barred from farming, owning, or transporting animals for three years. District judge Peter Greenfield reprimanded Kane, stating that the cows endured “enormous suffering in a “vision of hell.
While absolutely horrendous, the conditions at Kane’s farm are disturbingly similar to those at factory farms around the world. Multiple undercover investigations have revealed that conditions of filth and deprivation are all too common.
Watch this Mercy For Animals undercover investigation that shows cows kept on concrete floors covered with feces:
The puddles of waste on concrete floors cause frequent injuries as cows regularly slip and fall. “Downed cows, those too sick or injured to even stand, are left to suffer for weeks. And after enduring a life of abuse and neglect in deplorable conditions, cows at dairies—like all farmed animals—are violently slaughtered.
Sadly, when an industry puts profits over the lives of animals, cruelty is the norm.
Fortunately, since the 1970s, milk consumption has declined 40 percent in the United States, and sales of plant-based milk have soared 30 percent since 2011. Even Canada’s largest dairy producer is investing in the plant-based milk industry.