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adoptpets:

Undercover video at Idaho dairy farm which supplies food to Kraft, Wendy’s, In-N-Out, and Burger King shows workers stomping, dragging and beating cows

• Bettencourt diary farms have cows living in disgusting conditions with wet floors and standing in their own filth
  
• Kraft Foods have said they are sticking by the dairy supplier

Workers at Idaho’s largest dairy operation, which indirectly supplies food giants Kraft and Wendy’s and other fast food chains have been charged with animal cruelty after shocking undercover footage revealed terrible abuse.

The three former staff members at Bettencourt Dairies’ Dry Creek Dairy in Hansen were seen beating cows with a pink cane as the animals slipped and slid on the wet concrete floor; kicking, shoving and stomping on cows that have fallen between the metal bars in the milking stalls; and a cow being dragged out of the barn by a chain around her neck as she lies prone on the concrete floor.

Luis Bettencourt, the owner of the dairy, said that when the Idaho Department of Agriculture told him about the video and allegations in August, he was ‘sick about it.’ Bettencourt’s dairy operation is the largest in Idaho, with 13 facilities and about 60,000 milk cows.

Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said he filed misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against Jesus Garza, Jose Acensio and Javier Victor Rojas Loayza in late August after an investigation that was prompted by the video. If convicted, the men face fines of up to $5,000 each and jail time on a first offense.

‘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 officials with the Idaho Department of Agriculture showed him the footage in August and he fired the five workers seen in the video the next day. In the weeks since, he said he’s installed video cameras throughout his facilities and hired an additional 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.’

Nathan Runkle, the executive director of Mercy for Animals, said those steps amount to ‘too little too late.’

He hopes the video will convince Kraft Foods, Burger King and the Wendy’s fast food chain’s — companies which Runkle says uses milk from Bettencourt Dairy — to stop using milk from the Idaho company and send a ‘clear message to the industry that animal abuse will not be tolerated.’

‘We believe this abuse is ongoing and was allowed to flourish, unchecked, until Mercy for Animal sent a hidden camera in,’ Runkle said.

‘There are no meaningful watchdogs inside a factory farm. … Across the country 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.’

The organization wants Kraft 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, and requiring that the provide clean, dry housing areas and nonslip flooring in milking barns.

Angela Wiggins, a spokeswoman for Kraft, said the company is continuing to voluntarily work with its 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,’ Wiggins said.

The video was upsetting, and Kraft doesn’t condone the abusive behaviors, she said.

‘We think it’s extremely serious,’ she said, adding, ‘We’re glad to see the immediate action taken by those involved.’

Wiggins also stressed that Kraft doesn’t raise dairy cows and doesn’t have a direct relationship with Bettencourt dairies. She said the company planned to make its standards and communications with suppliers more transparent for consumers, and will post them on its website.

Loebs, the prosecutor, said Bettencourt Dairies has cooperated fully with law enforcement and investigators don’t believe any of the dairy’s upper management knew about the mistreatment.

‘There’s no indication at all that the owners of the dairy were in any way complicit in this behavior. In fact, they have been extremely cooperative with the investigation,’ Loebs said.

‘They were very supportive of the charges being filed and as far as I can tell, it’s an isolated incident.’

Burger King admitted that while a Mercy for Animals investigation indicates that Bettencourt may be part of their supply chain, they are conducting their own investigation.

Idaho dairy farm which supplies Kraft and Wendy’s fires staff after ‘sickening’ video shows them stomping, dragging and beating cows inside milking barn

‘We take this matter very seriously,’ said a spokesman for the fast food firm.

‘Burger King Worldwide does not tolerate or condone cruelty to animals. As a part of our animal welfare commitment, we require that all suppliers and their vendors adhere to our vendor code of ethics.

‘Burger King Worldwide has launched an immediate investigation into this serious allegation and will take swift action if there is evidence of systemic violations to our animal welfare policies or vendor code of ethics.’

A spokesman for Wendy’s said that while Bettencourt Dairies’ Dry Creek Dairy in Idaho is not a direct supplier of Wendy’s, they do sell milk to a cheese processing company, who then sells on to one of the fast-food chain’s direct suppliers.

‘We have instructed Wendy’s supplier to disassociate with Bettencourt immediately,’ said the Wendy’s spokesman.

‘Wendy’s maintains stringent animal welfare standards with our suppliers.’ 

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.

‘Obviously our first concern is the well-being of the animals,’ Juker said. ‘The images do not meet acceptable animal care or husbandry standards. So we did a preliminary investigation and then turned the matter over to local law enforcement.’

The agency hasn’t ever received any other animal welfare complaints involving Bettencourt dairies, she said.

adoptpets: If this doesn’t want you to become a vegan, then I don’t know what will. This story and video weighs on my heart so much and makes me sick to my stomach. Don’t even know where to begin. The owner claims he didn’t know about the abuse—yeah fucken right. Then why are you hiring little punks and paying them minimum wage? It’s the same story at every factory farm-the owner is just dumbfounded by the abuse, because they believe in treating the animals as part of their family. Yet, it’s very telling that this is the 4th undercover investigation that Mercy for Animals has done, and every single one of them has led to charges being filed. And even if the owner didn’t know about the abuse, which I’ll believe when pigs start flying, he was responsible for the filthy conditions inside the diary farm. What a sad life for the cows living on on hard wet floor and standing in their own filth for their entire lives. That alone amounts to animals abuse. And then there’s Idaho, where if you want to abuse animals or children, you should definitely move there since they just don’t give a shit. Why you ask are these sadistic pieces of shits abusing the cows in the video only being charged with misdemeanors? Well, that would be because there are no felony animal abuse laws existing in Idaho. Idaho=Heaven for child predators and animal abusers. Once again, great work from Mercy For Animals.

(via fuckyeahcompassion)