Mutilated, Neglected, and Abused for Milk
Today, Mercy for Animals (MFA) released a new undercover investigation into New York’s largest dairy factory farm, Willet Dairy. The footage that the group’s investigator captured is strikingly similar to what we uncovered less than six months ago at a Land O’Lakes dairy farm and provides even more evidence that animals who are exploited for their milk suffer through sickening amounts of cruelty and neglect.
After watching this video, animal welfare experts and veterinarians have denounced the treatment of cows revealed in MFA’s investigation, which include the following:
- Cows were living in extremely crowded sheds on manure-coated concrete floors and suffered from bloody open wounds, swollen joints, prolapsed uteruses, and pus-filled infections.
- “Downed” cows languished for weeks before dying or being killed.
- Workers beat, kicked, and electric-shocked cows and calves.
- A worker restrained calves by shoving his fingers into the babies’ eyes as their horns were burned off. These same calves also suffered through painful tail-docking. Both mutilations are done without any anesthetic.
- Workers dragged newborn calves by their legs away from their distressed mothers.
The truth about milk can be hard to swallow, but people owe it to themselves—and animals—to see what really goes on in the dairy industry. Tonight, ABC World News and Nightline will air footage from the MFA investigation as well as our Land O’Lakes investigation. Help us expose the dairy industry’s “fairy tale” for what it really is—an unhappily-ever-after existence for cows and calves, from the moment they’re born until they are slaughtered—by telling as many people as you can via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter to tune in to what is sure to be a heart-wrenching exposé.
Written by Karin Bennett