Shocking
video footage secretly recorded by Mercy For Animals at a Delimax veal factory farm in Pont-Rouge, Quebec, has led to the
conviction of a worker, Éric Dame, for animal abuse and mistreatment. Dame has
been sentenced to pay a $4,000 fine and is prohibited from owning more than
five animals for a period of 15 years for violating the Quebec provincial
Animal Health Protection Act.
The graphic undercover video at
Delimax—a major Canadian veal supplier—exposed Dame kicking, punching, and
beating baby calves, baby calves chained by the neck and locked inside narrow
crates so small the animals couldn’t walk, turn around, or lie down
comfortably, and animals suffering from open wounds without proper veterinary
care.
Following the
investigation, Mercy For Animals immediately submitted a detailed legal
complaint to the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the
agency responsible for enforcing animal welfare laws, calling for animal
cruelty charges to be filed against the company for its violations of both
provincial and federal law. Mercy For Animals praises the Montreal SPCA for
pursuing justice for these abused and tormented animals.
Watch the footage
that led to the convictions here:
The release of this
graphic footage resulted in recommendations by both the Ontario and Quebec veal associations to phase out
inherently cruel veal crates. Additionally, it prompted major retailers Loblaws, Sobeys, and Metro to
ban the sale of crated veal in their stores. Such a ban was already in effect
at Costco.
Baby calves raised for veal are
routinely ripped away from their mothers and locked alone on feces-covered floors
in wooden crates or chained by the neck for their entire lives. In such
intensive and unrelenting confinement, these social and gentle animals are
unable to even turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, run, play, or do
anything that makes life worth living.
Mercy For Animals is now calling
on the National Farm Animal Care Council to update the Code of Practice for the
care and handling of veal calves to prohibit the use of veal crates, and the
Quebec agriculture minister to give the code of practice the force of law in
Quebec’s provincial animal cruelty legislation.
Although this case sends an
important message that malicious cruelty to animals on factory farms is unacceptable
and will not be tolerated, ultimately, the best thing that compassionate
individuals can do to protect veal calves and other farmed animals from
needless cruelty and suffering is to adopt a healthy and humane vegan diet.
Visit ChooseVeg.com for more information.