FARM Nestle cuts ties with farm over dairy cow abuse

[Cardinal]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...farm-dairy-cow-abuse-20131210,0,4578302.story

By Ellen Jean Hirst
Tribune reporter
12:07 p.m. CST, December 10, 2013

Nestle's Northbrook-based pizza division, which makes DiGiorno and Jack's frozen pies, has cut ties with a Wisconsin farm after an animal rights group released a video of dairy cow abuse.

Mercy for Animals revealed an undercover investigation on Tuesday that showed video footage of cows being beaten, stabbed and dragged by a tractor.

The cows, at Wiese Brothers’ Farm in Greenleaf, Wis., supply milk to Foremost Farms, which in turn makes cheese for Nestle.

In a statement to the Tribune, Nestle spokeswoman Deborah Cross said the company is "outraged and deeply saddened by the mistreatment of animals shown in this video.”

She added: "We have advised Foremost Farms that we will not accept any cheese made with milk from the Wiese Brothers’ Farm.”

Cross said Nestlé is committed to humane animal handling, and pointed to the company’s Responsible Sourcing Guidelines “to help ensure that our suppliers work according to the same principles and values that we do ourselves.”

The Wiese Brothers Farm said it became aware of the video late last month, saying it was "shocked and saddened to see a few of our employees not following our farm’s policies for proper animal care."

"We have zero tolerance for animal abuse," the statement continued. "We are committed to providing optimal care and ask all our employees to demonstrate ongoing respect for every animal at all times."

At a press conference, Mercy for Animals' general counsel Vandhana Bala outlined the extent of the abuse, which included farm hands stabbing and using a tractor to drag cows that couldn't walk.

The farm, which has 4,500 cows that produce about 350,000 pounds of milk daily, was chosen at random to investigate. Mercy for Animals had been conducting similar investigations for 8 years, Bala said, including six investigations into dairy farms that showed similar abuse.

"This leads us to believe that violence and cruelty run rampant in the dairy industry," Bala said.

The undercover employee worked at the Wisconsin farm from Oct. 4 until Nov. 15.

Mercy for Animals alerted the Brown County Sheriff's department to the cruelty.

"We have every reason to believe they're taking this issue very seriously," Bala said.

Because of the disturbing nature of the video, the Tribune is not posting it on its website. It can be viewed here. (at website)

 

[DustMusher]

I agree with Nestles attitude of no mistreatment of animals, however, looking at the full investigation of the filming and complaints filed by the animal rights activists, the great majority of the undercover vidographers them selves were abusing the animals and were paid plants by the ARs to create 'evidence' -- so all in all why did the person keep taking videos instead of trying to stop the abuse.

DM

 

[naturallysweet]

I agree with Nestles attitude of no mistreatment of animals, however, looking at the full investigation of the filming and complaints filed by the animal rights activists, the great majority of the undercover vidographers them selves were abusing the animals and were paid plants by the ARs to create 'evidence' -- so all in all why did the person keep taking videos instead of trying to stop the abuse.

DM

We must not forget that what sometimes looks like horrendous animal abuse, is the proper way to care for animals.

Let me explain. If a dairy cow goes down, meaning she lays down and is unable to get up for a long period of time, then she's dead unless the farmer can get her up. A holstein weights about 1400 pounds, not something that can be easily picked up and set on her feet.

So a farmer will use electric shock and other pain inducing methods to get up up. If that doesn't work it's time to bring in heavy equipment to try to push, shove, or lift the cow up on her feet. It looks like horrible abuse, but if she isn't on her feet in a short period of time, then she will never get up and can't even legally be butchered for human consumption.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I lost a cow to this and understand it a little better than some. It's wrong to show a video of people harassing a downed cow into getting up, without giving an explanation on why it's happening.

 

[energy_wave]

There is also a petition to sign on the website...

http://www.sliceofcruelty.com/

 

[Willow]

The video did NOT show a farmer trying to help a downed cow get up. When you want a downer to get up (to live) you don't hook a hind leg and hang her or drag her. Yes, it is common to hit them to get them to respond...but when they can't and you continue to beat them bloody....that is not a farmer just trying to save a cow's life. I've been around farms for most of my adult life and understand the difference between desperately trying to get a cow to stand to help her and just plan abuse. Too many farmers these days see the cows as a piece of equipment and care nothing about the pain and suffering. There are good farmers, bad farmers and many in between. The bad ones need to be exposed and if the animal rights people are the ones to do it...more power to them. I am not an animal rights person. Not even close, but lets not decide that because this was an animal rights group that we cannot admit they are right.

Watch the video. Most of it is sickening. All in the name of cheap food. That is why here at the farm we are trying hard to get back to a more self sufficient life style with our own milk and meat from animals that are loved and cared for without beating them or neglecting them.

Willow

 

[naturallysweet]

I'm choosing to not watch the video, because I can imagine what's on it.

I have watched other videos in the past though, that show a downed cow being shoved around and the newsmedia talking about animal abuse.

 

[Willow]

I would think that anyone who wants to comment on what the video is representing should probably watch it before commenting.

Willow

 

[naturallysweet]

I would think that anyone who wants to comment on what the video is representing should probably watch it before commenting.

Willow

I was commenting on the type of people who show up at farms with video cameras, with the intent to destroy the farmer. They don't care about the animals being abused. They participate and escalate the abuse, and then wait months to put the footage into a movie.

If they actually cared about the animals, they would go straight to the police and get the abuse stopped. Instead, they use the suffering of animals, and misrepresent legitimate practices, all to forward their political goals.

 

[cleobc]

This blog explains some of the things that people may have seen on the video. It was written by a woman who dairy farms, and I highly recommend it. I don't know how to make a link you can just click on.

http://dairycarrie.com/2013/12/09/cowabuse/

 

[willowlady]

One of the problems that might lead to abusive behavior was nicely pointed out by NaturallySweet. When the big cows go down, it's sometimes difficult to get them up again. My questions is: Why is that? Methinks that many of our dairy cows have been so highly bred for production that they are less functional as animals. I know nothing about animal husbandry (except for keeping chickens and bees) and fully acknowledge that I'm offering pure speculation. I've seen the dairy cows at fairs, and their udders and trunks are so large it's not surprising that they might have problems getting back on their feet unless they are in tip-top shape, i.e. young. Also, if a cow is sick and goes down, they probably don't much feel like getting up, and then there is that time limit thing. Nevertheless, abusing an animal is inexcusable. No, I haven't watched the video. I trust y'all's comments about the difference between necessarily harsh-seeming methods and abuse.

 

[Willow]

This blog explains some of the things that people may have seen on the video. It was written by a woman who dairy farms, and I highly recommend it. I don't know how to make a link you can just click on.

http://dairycarrie.com/2013/12/09/cowabuse/

Trust me....this is NOT what is on the video. PETA and HSUS are not a farmer's friend. They want to end farming. They make things up. They truly are the enemy to humane and practical farming. But we as compassionate people need to be able to put our dislike for these organizations aside and determine for ourselves whether abuse is taking place or not. This is one situation where we should NOT consider the source.

I do not believe anyone should defend the treatment on the video unless they have watched it and agree with what they saw. I know that you have to get these down cows up and getting them up can look cruel to the uneducated. But there is a limit to what you do to an animal to see if you can get it up. Or should I say I believe there are limits. Maybe some of you don't. If you watch the video and believe that some of the extreme methods used are just fine....you have a right to believe that. I don't believe they are humane and I don't consider myself a 'softie' in any way. I've used a whip to try to get a down horse up. I've yelled and hit them. But there are limits. I've never strung one up by a hind leg to dangle or drag it down a center isle. I've never put a small rope around their flank and strung them high in the air to dangle helplessly. I've never beat them till they bled. But if that is what you think is humane....I'm sorry for the animals in your care.

Willow

 

[cleobc]

I don't think the cows should have been dragged by one leg or hoisted by one leg--the dairy woman in the blog link I posted said they do hoist them by the hips and have to use heavy equipment. I think Holsteins run more in the area of 1200 to 1400 lbs., rather than the 1,000 to 1,200 she mentioned. At those weights, if they have to moved, equipment is going to be necessary. I know with horses, great care has to be taken if they are hoisted, because their weight when lifted cause them to stop breathing. I assume that is why cows are hoisted by their hips. Holsteins are extremely bred for milk production, and in my opinion they are weak animals with poor will to live. I understand why they have to be gotten up, whatever it takes, or they will die there. Most of the workers I saw in the video appeared to be Mexican/Central-South American. Animals are not well treated in those countries and I think that immigrant workers do need to be well supervised because their feelings for animals may be very different than ours, and they may lack understanding of what they are doing and may misinterpret methods of doing things. So they may hoist by one leg or drag by one leg because they are ignorant of the harm that can be done, and no, they shouldn't have done that. Chances are it was not sanctioned by management but was done by workers on their own initiative. Dragging a cow? That may be the only way. The blog writer said they use a sled, which would definitely be more humane. But if you have 500 more cows to milk and a cow is blocking the aisle, she has got to be moved somehow. Hitting a down cow stuck in a stanchion? I don't know what else they could have done except use a hotshot. Like the blog writer said, better a shock than being dead. The sores on the cows? I saw half a dozen or so. In a 1,000 cow dairy, I would expect there would be daily injuries to some animal. Presumably they are being treated, and that may not be apparent. These cows are worth thousands of dollars and I can't believe abuse is a regular thing because milk production will go down and it will be noticed. I worked on a multi-million dollar race horse farm once where every possible thing had be done to protect the horses and with 300 brood mares there were injuries to report every single morning. So all in all, I saw some stuff on the video which shouldn't have been done but some stuff that may have been unavoidable or misunderstood.

And Willow? No need to get condescending, snotty or insulting. I didn't treat you that way although I disagree with you. I take very good care of my animals, and in the past have been responsible for thousands of animals working with my husband. If you have not worked in a situation like that, you may not understand that sometimes things have to be done differently than if you just have a couple of pets.

 

[Willow]

My attitude in this discussion is based on frustration at some portraying that video as just another day on the farm. I too have worked on dairy farms and also on one of the biggest Quarter Horse performance and breeding farms in the world. I do understand the need for heavy equipment to move animals...and have seen it done with the utmost care in order to protect the animal in question. I've stood up for farmers who had to do things that the average city person doesn't understand and my opinion was not formed by 'having a couple of pets.' I've worked in the large animal industry for about forty years and tend to be pretty practical. That video was abuse and it saddens me to hear it being defended.

Willow