Undercover Video Exposes Horrific Animal Abuse At Dairy Factory Farm In Colorado

DENVER, June 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Law enforcement is investigating a Dairy Farmers of America cooperative farm in Colorado based on hidden-camera video footage from Mercy For Animals showing dairy workers viciously punching, kicking, beating, and stabbing cows. The disturbing video was taken at Cactus Acres Holsteins in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Dairy Farmers of America is a Kansas City-based milk marketing cooperative with nearly 15,000 member farms nationwide.

To view the undercover video, visit www.GotMisery.com.

MFA is hosting a tele-press conference at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time at 323-452-6920.

MFA's investigator reported the abuses to Cactus Acres management and quickly contacted local law enforcement authorities and presented them with a detailed legal complaint and the undercover video footage. MFA is calling on the Morgan County Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office to take swift and decisive action in pursuing justice for these abused and exploited animals. 

MFA is also calling on Dairy Farmers of America to immediately adopt meaningful animal welfare requirements and oversight for all of its member farms, including implementing a zero tolerance policy for kicking, punching, and stabbing cows; requiring suppliers to prohibit painful and unnecessary mutilations of animals, such as tail docking; requiring suppliers to provide a safe, clean, and sanitary environment for cattle; requiring third-party audits to ensure compliance; and installing video monitoring systems that live stream to the internet to help deter abuse.

Multiple undercover investigations conducted by MFA at dairy factory farms across the country have exposed widespread and sadistic acts of animal abuse, highlighting a problem that runs rampant in the dairy industry. Following similar investigations by MFA, Nestlé, Leprino Foods, Saputo, and Great Lakes Cheese, four of the largest dairy companies in North America, announced industry-leading animal welfare policy reforms.

"Treated as mere milk-producing machines, cows exploited and abused by the dairy industry endure lives filled with misery and deprivation," said MFA's president, Nathan Runkle. "No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that beat, kick, and stab animals. Due to its complete lack of meaningful animal welfare standards and oversight, Dairy Farmers of America allowed a culture of cruelty to flourish in its milk supply chain."

SOURCE Mercy For Animals