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Mercy for Animals
In an image taken from undercover video, workers at an Idaho dairy farm tie up a cow before dragging it out of the milking barn.
BOISE, Idaho -- Three workers fired from Idaho's largest dairy farm have been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after undercover video shot by an animal rights group showed workers stomping, dragging and beating cows inside a milking barn.
The video was shot using a hidden camera by a member of Mercy for Animals who got a job at Bettencourt Dairies' Dry Creek Dairy in Hansen for a few weeks last summer.
It shows workers at the dairy:
- Beating cows with a pink cane as the animals slipped and slid on the wet concrete floor;
- Kicking, shoving and stomping cows that have fallen between the metal bars in the milking stalls;
- Using a tractor to drag a cow, with a chain around her neck, out of a barn as she lies prone on the concrete floor.
Misdemeanor animal cruelty charges were filed against Jesus Garza, Jose Acensio and Javier Victor Rojas-Loayza in late August after an investigation that was prompted by the video, said Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs.
Acensio, a plant manager, and Rojas-Loayza are at large, Mercy for Animals said in a statement Wednesday, while Garza is to appear in court on Oct. 16.
If convicted, the men face fines of up to $5,000 each and six months of jail time on a first offense.
Luis Bettencourt, the owner of the dairy, told The Associated Press that when the Idaho Department of Agriculture told him about the video and allegations, he was "sick about it."
"We don't tolerate animal abuse. That's a big issue for us," Bettencourt said. "I love my animals and I've been in the dairy business since I was a kid. Animal care is a number one issue in our facilities."
Bettencourt said Idaho officials showed him the footage in August and he fired the five workers seen in the video the next day. He said that in the weeks since, he's installed video cameras throughout his facilities and hired another supervisor.
"And we also showed the video to all the rest of the employees in our dairies, all 500 employees, and they had to sign a deal that said they understand that there's zero tolerance for animal abuse in our dairies," he said. "We've been in business 30 years and we've never had this happen before. We're all devastated here."
Bettencourt's dairy operation has about 60,000 milk cows.
One dairy farmer in Oregon is using waterbeds for his cows and he says the beds are boosting his bottom line. KGW-TV's Abbey Gibb reports.
Nathan Runkle, the executive director of Mercy for Animals, said those steps amount to "too little, too late."
The group also hopes the video will persuade companies to stop using products made from the Idaho company's milk and send a "clear message to the industry that animal abuse will not be tolerated."
Matt Rice, the group's investigations director, told NBC News that while it has had "meaningful discussions" with some food companies that get supplies from Bettencourt, Burger King and Kraft Foods have been resistant to implementing recommended changes.
Runkle claimed that, "due to its complete lack of meaningful animal welfare standards, Burger King has allowed a culture of cruelty to fester at the factory farms supplying cheese for its burgers."
Burger King told NBC News "it does not tolerate or condone cruelty to animals" and is investigating the incident.
Dairy products from the facility where the video was made come to Burger King through third-party suppliers and amount to less than 1 percent of the company's supply, added company spokesman Bryson Thornton.
"We require that all suppliers and their vendors adhere to our vendor code of ethics," he said, noting that Burger King has been recognized by PETA and the Humane Society of the U.S. in recent years for its animal welfare efforts.
The Humane Society was quick to back up that support.
"Burger King has been a leader in its field on animal welfare for more than a decade, and is doing more to improve farm animal welfare than any other major restaurant chain," Matthew Prescott, the group's food policy director, told NBC News. "The abuse shown on the video released today is reprehensible, by all accounts. We’re confident that Burger King will take this issue as seriously as it takes other animal welfare issues."
Kraft, for its part, said it voluntarily works with dairy suppliers to make sure they meet or exceed animal care guidelines. "Kraft has cared about the well-being of animals for years. We have high standards for our suppliers already in place," said spokeswoman Angela Wiggins.
Kraft plans to make its standards and communications with suppliers more transparent for consumers, and will post them on its website, Wiggins added.
Meet some Missouri dairy cows that are living the good life. Chris Morrison reports.
Runkle said the cruelty isn't limited to the Idaho workers. "This is actually our fourth dairy industry investigation that we've done and every single one of those investigations has led to animal cruelty charges being filed," he said.
The organization wants major buyers to require suppliers to establish policies on the care and treatment of cattle, including:
- Prohibiting animals from being dragged without a sled;
- Prohibiting dairies from docking the tails of cattle or removing their horns after a certain age;
- Requiring that the provide clean, dry housing areas and nonslip flooring in milking barns.
Prosecutor Loebs said Bettencourt Dairies has cooperated fully and investigators don't believe any of its upper management knew about the mistreatment.
Pam Juker, spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Agriculture, said the agency launched an investigation immediately after Mercy for Animals officials showed the department the video and other documentation.
The agency has never received any other animal welfare complaints involving Bettencourt, she said.
"Obviously our first concern is the well-being of the animals," Juker added. "The images do not meet acceptable animal care or husbandry standards."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
a burger king comercial before the pampered cow story.crazy.
It's called damage control - That they so desperately need to fix their ailing businesses. People are catching on to all the damage that a current SAD diet creates. Horrible for human health. Devastating to the environment and and nightmare for the animals.
I'm glad to have ditched meat and dumped dairy! I'm a lot better for it! ;)
Why am I not surprised at all the Latino names? Latinos are the worst animal abusers around. They hold illegal cock fights, dog fights, bull fights. My Mexican neighbors (illegals) treat their dog pets like chattel. These Mexicans are probably undocumented workers from Mexico. Deport them after jail time.
Totally agree jerryball. Along with the gangsters abusing their pitbulls.
i believe that these men should be treated as they treated the cows. i am sooooooooooo sick of all the cruelty to animals. makes me want to do bad things to these men .(pigs)having been raised on a ranch i know you don't abuse any animal.
Hi - Instead of wanting to do "bad things" to these men... How about doing good things instead? Good for human health - Good for the environment and certainly a life-saver for the animals. Kiss the meat, dairy and egg businesses goodbye:
Or grow your own and don't let hirelings abuse your animals.
"Or grow your own and don't let hirelings abuse your animals."
this in no way solves the moral and ethical issues of the owning, enslaving, exploiting and slaughtering when they are no longer financially profitable of other sentient beings for your own personal gratification. it also does not address the inherently extremely inefficient, polluting and unhealthy aspects of ALL forms of animal agriculture when compared to plant based agriculture.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”—Albert Einstein
jerryball (and others) - I grew up on a dairy farm in Idaho. I think you missed the point of this article. It is a gross generalization that because they are Latino they will treat animals poorly. I have seen the mistreatment of animals at the hands of many races and cultures (including and sometimes especially Caucasian). Secondly, it is wrong to assume they are illegal as well. An issue, that I can almost guarantee would have been mentioned in the article if that was the case. Dairy farming is not seasonal. These are not migrant workers. Some of the employees on our farm (and yes, most were Hispanic, because that is who applies for the job) with with us for many years. Because of this it is very difficult to to hire illegal immigrants and not face consequences. Especially for large organizations such as the one mentioned in this article because they are the largest targets for investigation. What is important to take from this story is that you need to know where your food comes from. The larger the business and the more people involved, the more difficult it is to control every facet of hygiene and ethical treatment. I know many dairy farmers, and they love their cows. Cows are the farmers' life's work and they treat them as such. Happy cows provide a much better product whether it is meat or milk, and a good farmer will recognize that.
Hi - Whether it's a small or large firm the general practices are the same:
Female cows are forcibly artificially inseminated to become pregnant and continue lactating. After 9 months, the dairy industry steals these baby calves shortly after they are born. The "worthless" males who can't make milk are either killed immediately or kept in isolation for a few months to become veal. The unfortunate females calves follow their mother's sad lot all the way to the last moments on the kill floor when they are no longer "productive". Adult humans do not need cow's milk any more than they need goat's milk, wolf's milk, camel's milk, giraffe's milk. Unweaned infants do remarkably better on their own mother's breast milk which is what our species was intended to consume. There's absolutely nothing beneficial to the human diet in cow's milk that can't be gotten through plant based sources. Thankfully there's abundant plant based alternatives that are just as nutritional, just as satisfying and just as versatile in cooking. Some even have twice the amount of calcium and vitamin D as cow's milk does. Dairy is also destructive to the environment and a tragic waste of resources. Perhaps it is time for "unweaned" adults to look beyond what deceptiveness and hype the dairy industry is pitching at you in order to keep their profits and their cruel practices in check.
And look up westonaprice.org.
Considering all the people this dairy employs,I believe the owner didn't know that was going on! He needs healthy cows so why would he allow that?! I think that agency is being a jerk for trying to ruin that dairy!The owner explained what he had his employees do to avoid any more cruelity to the cows!Just because of a few SCUM BAGS, it doesn't mean every one is scum!! That dairy owner who says he has all latinos working for him because they are the ones who apply for the jobs! It wouldn't be because their willing to work at a LOW WAGE!! Would it?!!
Wages may be a factor. I will not lie and say it is a a glamorous job. Winters can be very hard in Idaho, it is hard work, and you definitely do not come home smelling like roses. But I think it would be very difficult to find a dairy that pays their employees less than welfare assistance does. Yet, it is sometimes a struggle to find employees, despite the complaint that there are not enough jobs for the unemployed. It comes down to who is not afraid to put in a good days work and have some pride in that work or who is to prideful or lazy to get their hands dirty in something they think is beneath them. My father payed our employees well (know I was one, and I was definitely not at the pay scale). He knew what it was like, he started in that exact same position working grave yard as a milker. The employees made much better wages then I did my first two jobs out of collage .
This dairy should have had cameras way before this happened. What sort of business that is this large, not have cameras around? I think the owner is at fault for not having his employees supervised more carefully. He probably hires illegals too!
You can bet your botton dollar abuse to animals that are used for food is common place. GO VEGAN and nobody gets hurt.
Even vegans are at risk for GMO illnesses, especially those depending on soy for protein as 99% of soy is GMO now- look up GMO rats and see how it damages their offspring, causes them to be weak and sickly. So just like I say about growing your own animals, grow your own garden too, that is the only way we can be free of the now inbred toxins. Natural News is finding whole Foods and Trader Joes often carry GMO foods without labeling- even Kashi has GMO grains. You just can't trust the food source.
You can bet your botton dollar abuse to animals that are used for food is common place. GO VEGAN and nobody gets hurt.
As long as animals are used as disposable commodities they will be treated as such.
The only way to not be responsible for unnecessary animal suffering and death is to stop using them as food: go vegan. The animals, the Earth, and you will be far better off.
The great news: going vegan is easy, delicious and nutritious. There's no good reason to not do it.
WHEN WHEN WHEN will we all learn that these stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Animal cruelty is epidemic on factory farms. News Flash----there are no 'Happy Cows' as those absurd and misleading ads would have you believe. The stories which are uncovered represent what happens on a daily basis round the clock to these animals. Abuse in the dairy industry is rampant! Please remember this the next time you serve milk, ice cream or any other dairy product to your kids. Please rise above this horror and switch to a non-dairy option.
um...not entirely true. Burn Dairy cows in upstate NY live normal healthy lives on small family farms. They go outside every day and they eat grass and roam their fields freely. The way it should be.
The record of these criminals should prevent them from ever working around animals again.
How sick is this? Really, who cares how much they are being paid, with so many people out of work a lot of people would jump on the opportunity for any job, even if this was it. To abuse a harmless animal like a cow that can't even fight back is sickening. Those workers should rot in jail for doing this.
What a lot of people don't realize is that the government controls the price of milk..The "average" sized dairy farm is almost extinct..That's why these huge "farms" have taken over..
The reason for so little supervision is simple economics..For the profit of a few pennies for a gallon of milk, these workers are left, for the most part, unsupervised..
Yeah, lets put this farm out of business and put the rest of the employees on the unemployment line and send the cows to slaughter (that's where they'd end up) because of a handful of sick morons..And yeah, lets also send them to prison where they can live off of us taxpayers for a few months...
A lose lose situation.
I called the number at the end of the video and talked to the people who took tohe video. As of the 16th , only one of the people involved in the abuse is in custody. The others have flown the coop...so to speak. they probably are illegals as that is what is hired around these parts.Companies cater to them and even the businesses around Boise speak Spanish instead of English. I do know of fast food places that will only give the easy and clen jobs to the immigrants and do hold their meetings in Spanish with their employees. The English employees are just "sol" in those meetings.This has to stop in this country.And what I mean by that is quit catering to these immigrants who refuse to speak English or even learn how to speak it.And don't think for a moment that they can't speak English either!I do believe in immigrants getting into this country but only by the legal and proper way! That is the issue and it's not racism!
Whatever!
Dairy cows are gentle loving creatures and its a disgrace that they have been abused in this way. My grandfather used to pet and sing to his cows like they were little children and it makes me sickto see people mistreating these gentle giants in this way. Hooray for the people who have the guts to expose this abuse!!
Your gramps must be a loon like you ......singing to cows....did he sing to fish too ?
Whop-de-do so they beat the hel* out of some animals there were going to be dead at any moment.....get a life you bleeding heart losers, you losers have mental problems it seems nothing can die in your eyes you must be afraid of death.
Hoping Kippy gets his ass beat.....
Quit hiring Mexicans who don't give two @!$%#s about anything...