WOOSTER, Ohio — After experiencing one of the worst years for milk prices, dairy farmers across the nation were served yet another forceful blow just a few weeks into the new year.
On Jan. 26, ABC and some of the biggest names in animal rights groups revealed undercover videos showing dairy cattle being dehorned, tails being docked, some suffering from infections and one cow that was struck with a wrench.
The videos, which aired on ABC World News and ABC Nightline, were supplied by Mercy for Animals and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, with endorsements by a host of other activist organizations, including Humane Society of The United States.
The videos were taken at New York’s largest dairy — the 5,000-cow Willet Dairy — located in Cayuga County. But footage there was used to represent all of the dairy industry, turning the popular marketing phrase “Got milk?” into a question of, “Got Ethics?”
Is dairy ethical?
“We know that the tapes provided were made by animal rights groups who have a very partisan objective: ending animal food production,” said Chris Galen, spokesperson for National Milk Producers Federation.
Galen was among a select few who were included in ABC’s investigation into dairy cow treatment. Some of his comments about the country’s low somatic cell count, and the overall care most dairymen give to their cows were not included in the segment.
Galen agreed some actions on the video were not acceptable, like striking a cow with a wrench. He and National Milk also support using anesthetic when tail docking or electric dehorning is performed. Anesthetic apparently was not used in the videos aired.
Acceptable practices
However, National Milk does not condemn tail docking, because some dairymen find it a useful way of preventing disease around a cow’s udder, and accessing a cow’s udder without being struck by her tail.
National Milk addresses these and other animal care concerns in its National Dairy Farm Program — an initiative to ensure dairy cows are cared for. The program is accessible at www.nationaldairyfarm.com, where a very different video shows how best practices lead to animal safety, comfort and well-being, and a healthy product for consumers.
Dairymen have every reason to care for their animals, because “she (the cow) is their source of income,” said Leah Miller, director of Small Farm Institute in Ohio — an organization dedicated to small family farms and landowners.
“You don’t (mistreat) the goose that lays the golden egg,” she said, likening the same analogy to cattle.
Regulations coming
Miller said the ag community in most places is still a strong community, but some animal rights groups are giving it a test. In November, Ohio voters approved landmark legislation to form the Livestock Care Standards Board.
Galen said more national and federal policies from activist organizations are likely to come, and some will not be satisfied, no matter the reform a state or farm group proposes.
“They (activists) are empowered and they have more money,” he said. “I think that it’s going to continue. The ability of animal rights groups to infiltrate farming groups is not going to change.”
Scott Higgins, CEO of Ohio Dairy Producers Association, said it’s unfortunate the videos were used to reflect the whole industry, “when there’s so many of our farmers who do it right, and would welcome consumers to stop in.”
He and ODPA are forming a team of dairy experts to advise the yet-to-be-formed Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, of practices that merit consumer confidence.
“As these things (activist videos) get exposed, our agriculture community steps up and says ‘that’s not the way we all do it,'” Higgins said. “Ohio’s dairy is going to be proactive in this.”
Media can help or hurt
Beth Meyer, communications director for American Dairy Association, said easy access to media like Twitter, Facebook, and even cell phone cameras and videos all make it easy for the dairy industry to be attacked.
One of the best things dairymen can do is be sure their practices are sound and up to standard.
But farmers must share their message of what they do, and why, because media also is a tool to spotlight the positive practices in their industry.
“Now, more than ever, we need to be open and we need to be out talking to people,” she said.
One-sided
Stacey Stevens, director of nutrition and industry affairs for Dairy Management Inc., said ABC was put in touch with a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, where good dairy ethics were practiced.
“But not one shot of it was used” by ABC, she said.
Dairy farmers have much more of a partisan objective! MONEY!
Whereas, animal advocates may want “to end animal food production”, it is for an altruistic cause, i.e., to end the cruelty to animals. Dairy farmers –on the other hand — have no such altruistic motives. They are motivated by the profits!! So who has the most partisan objectives? Not the animal advocates!
With milk prices at $10/cwt I highly doubt anyone in the diary industry is there for the sole profitability. Dairy producers, even the large ones, stem from family operations. Maybe you should walk on a few dairy operations and get to know the people. Ever ask a livestock producer if animals deserve to have rights? Guess what!? Most of them will agree, but they are also logical people that know a thing or two about what it takes to have healthy animals. Take a look at what has happened to the horse industry since the slaughter ban, for example. People who have never owned a horse before can buy them for real cheap but don’t ever consider the cost of maintaining a animal that eats $4/bushel corn & $3.50/bale hay so they turn them loose or starve them. A little bit of logic goes a long ways and maybe some individuals need to stop pursuing extremisms (which are never good) and have a little commen sense about life. If animal agriculture goes, with the EPA, crop agriculture won’t be far behind…then what are you going to eat? Air or grass?
To comment on animal advocates directly…ever do some real research about HSUS and where their fundraised money ACTUALLY goes?? It certainly doesn’t go to crowded animal shelters…
Unfortunately this farm/Willet is one (questionable) bad apple in the bunch. More unfortunate is that the Dairy production industry let its guard down. You have to realize the PETA groups of the world are going to continue to attack whenever and where ever possible. I agree we need to continue to get out the word to what is really happening on good dairy farms.
Walter, I agree 100%. In the end, it’s all about money for the dairy producers. They will say ANYTHING to protect their profits as that is their primary motivation. Activists are not motivated by profit…they see an injustice and simply want to end it.
if this was one isolated case then the ‘good’ dairy farmer should have been shown but these dairy co.s repeatedly advertise the ‘Happy Cow’ lie to cover up the truth about the dark environment these cows live in. I have seen not one but MANY videos showing the abuse that goes on behind those closed doors where this supposed ‘Happy Cow’ lives so trying to convince us this doesn’t happen simply isn’t true but it makes you look like a silent participant. Dairy farmers have a vested FINANCIAL interest in keeping the Happy Cow lie going.
This “You don’t (mistreat) the goose that lays the golden egg’ doesn’t fly because obviously they do mistreat their golden eggs!!
HSUS, PETA and their vegan sycophants have only one ethic and that is to eliminate animal protein from the human diet. How ethical is it of these anti-food activists to masquerade their organizations as mainstream? How ethical is it for them to pretend to care about animal welfare when their multi-million dollar fundraising efforts share little, if any, of the funds collected with SPCA’s. What fraudsters! Why don’t they just come clean regarding their motives? No more eggs or bacon with your eggs, no more milk or ice cream or cheese, no more turkey at Thanksgiving, hot dogs at the ball game nor hamburgers on the grill. Can you imagine what these vegan hypocrites’ Super Bowl parties must be like? Come clean animal rightists!
About the golden-egg laying goose… That would be singular – Damage or destroy the goose – and no more egg. BUT the reality of dairy and all animal agriculture is that these endless, multitudes of billions of beings are reproduced like widgets. If #1468 dosen’t work out – haul in #1469! None of these lives has any irreplaceable “value”… only the easy cash their flesh and secretions bring in.
“… some actions on the video were not acceptable, like striking a cow with a wrench.”
Ya think???
“cell phone cameras and videos all make it easy for the dairy industry to be attacked.” CORRECTION: all make is easy for the dairy industry to be EXPOSED!
Even disqualifing all these “standard practices”… The tail docking, dehorning, removal of a 5th teat, the ear tagging, artificial insemination… etc. We are still left with an industry that MUST continue these other horrible acts in order to profit:
The calves are removed from the mothers – So humans can steal the milk.
Useless males are slaughtered within days/months, as “veal” or “bob veal”.
Pregnant cows are often slaughtered.
Cows are crippled and “retired” at a fraction of their given time.
The meat industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars lying to the public about their product. But no amount of false propaganda can sanitize meat. The facts are absolutely clear: Eating meat is bad for human health, catastrophic for the environment, and a living nightmare for animals.
Go Vegan
As a dairy farmer, I wish all you “dairy proponents” would stop cowering and giving in to all these preported “abuse” cases regarding us Dairies. I did not see the video, however, if you cannot grow a backbone and tell it like it is, dont be on our side. Life is NOT a bowl of roses, and many times things must be done that are not pretty to look at, but ARE NECCESSARY, such as dehorning and tail docking. Local (topical) anesthetic will not stop the pain for dehorning, and only a vet could give something strong enough (knocking the animal out). That is TOTALLY cost prohibitive to nearly ALL dairies. The pain incurred is less than that of cows giving birth…does that mean we all need to have the vet out to give our cows epidurals when they calf? Same with tail docking-only, there is little pain involved. If you TRUELY want to be of help, find a video of cows goreing each other (better yet-goreing a person)-the bloodier the better-and put it on HBO with the following caption..”what animal rights groups and shoddy, biased ABC reporters dont want you to know or see”. Also show some footage of a manure caked udder and curled, mastitic milk taken from it and ask if they are ready for a drink. There is a reason we do things on a farm-and it is NOT to torture the animals, but for their own welfare. If people still dont like how we raise our animals, boycott us farmers and starve to death-I really dont care. All you that think you have the right to impose on our constitutional rights and dictate how we live DESERVE that. We are FED-UP with people who havent a clue about animal husbandry telling us how to raise our livestock.
Get a life, if I want to eat meat, drink milk, have an egg for breakfast, it is my choice. If you want to be a vegan, that’s fine with me, but don’t destroy my freedom of choice because you don’t like it. Do you really believe this country can feed its self on veggies and fruit alone. Not hardly, and how long will it take before the environmentalists cry foul for the misuse of the land? This is a free country and just like the freedom of religion is the freedom of producing food and the freedom to eat it. So I think it is time the animal activists check their emotions at the door and let consumers have the freedom of choice and stop with the lies.
A 5000 head dairy is the problem. These caretakers that work for this corporate dairy dont care. Skeptics should visit a real dairy farm where you will observe care and compassion for dairy cows.The average dairy is family owned and consists of 50-200 cows,and these folks know their cows by name. If skeptics are really concerned,they should lobby against all corporate/factory farming.By the way I’m not a dairy farmer.
One incident that was touted as a norm by those trying to eliminate animals from our lives is not good journalism. It is sensationalism which more and more is what we see in liberal media. A good reporter would show all sides to the issue. I’m grateful to farmers for providing me with inexpensive safe food. I’m grateful to farmers for providing jobs, reducing the trade deficient, and for increasing their productivity for the benefit of mankind. So far I’ve not seen much good come from animal rights or greenies. PETA is so concerned about cows but kills 97% of the animals unfortunate enough to come into their control. They steal animals in order to kill them. HSUS doesn’t care for animals in shelters but is merely a huge fund raising entity that seeks to end all animal agriculture. They are making money on the tragedy in Haiti but no animals are in need of care there. It is all sad sound bites and no bottom. “By their fruit shall you know them”
Where are the real dairy farms since Farm Bureau went down the industrial dairy road? What I have said for years still goes. There should be a two tier system of animal livestock operations. Those requiring permits having no zoning abatements (unable to plunk themselves down near existing homes), paying their fair share of taxes, and creating not environmental harm to the waters of Ohio.
Farm Bureau has resisted these comments from this Farm Bureau member and now must reap what they have sown. Go HSUS force Ohio to enforce regulations which for too long have been ignored. It is the reason I have ten poultry buildings 500 feet west of my home of 33 years. Just imagine folks what our family has lived with! The upkeep of the paint due to the ammonia pummelling our home has been unreal. It is presently on the market but true to form, no offers! A sad ending to a Farm Bureau members lifetime investment.
If the human population wasn’t so bloated and out of control, we wouldn’t need factory farms to feed all of us. Ma and Pa farms are a nice idea, but they can’t feed us all. We need to stop having so many kids, period. It’s all connected.
Mary, maybe you should have bought that land next to you, or maybe you should move. That is an option you have because we live in the US. You are free to move if you want to, or you can continue to complain about these poultry barns. I bet you don;t complain when you go to the story and pay low prices for your food.
Walter, do you have a job? If so, do you know what makes that possible? Profits. Without profits, there’s no employment, there’s no economy. Profits are not evil. Profits keep the world moving. Profits pay for people to live. Profits finance innovation and technology. And you honestly think that more cruelty equals more profits? C’mon, where is the logic in that? In any case, it shows you know nothing about the dairy industry, in which profit margins are historically slim. Being cruel to your herd is not going to turn a dairy farmer from a beggar to Bernie Madoff. This mistreatment is obviously an anomoly; it makes much more sense that farmers would treat a costly investment well; they can’t afford to lose cows to abuse. Animal rights activists haven’t got the first damn clue about how the world works, outside of the socialist utopias they’ve concocted in their heads that I suggest they yank out of these cows’ hindquarters.
Every comment so far has been anti-farm… anti-animal…. anti-free enterprise. Since when in America is it a crime to earn a living, to make money? Since when is it crime to pursue ‘Life, Liberty, and Happiness’ in America? What is wrong with PROFIT? I suppose all of you who have commented on the ‘ugly’ word “Profit” work for free at your own personal vocation/job? Choice is still legal!!! Free enterprise is still alive and well in America, contrary to what “Rights” groups say and do. Yes… the videos do paint a grim picture. But isn’t that what sensational journalism does by its very nature …. take the very worst of something and turn it into a ’cause’ ?? For every farmer that isn’t doing something right with his inventory (yes cows, chickens, etc. are inventory) there are so many more that care for, and tend to their animals with intelligence. As to the person complaining about the chicken farm next door to their home, living in the country brings benefits and to negatives. Farms do produce odors and by-products that are not always welcome….it’s part of country living!
I am a dairy farmer. And everyone keeps saying the word ‘profits’ – LOL – what profits? There are no profits in dairy recently. So all of this talk about mega dairies abusing their cows for profits – is complete crap!
I am a farmer and I understand that PETA is laughable and HSUS thinks it is a government agency but no matter the name they are animal rights vegan activist that are pushing their own agenda of a vegan social movement. It seems the vegan animal rights activest have learned to parrott the message of Wayne Pacelle exactly, and some call it brainwashing. If this is not a form of terriorism, I really do not know what is. Veganism should not be forced on to anyone. This used to be America.
You are exactly right Wylie, I know and I am a victim of about 50 e-mails from a lady called Bea. I think she tried to brainwash me, telling me how animals are persons and they are so mis-treated and she literally tried to convince me that being a dairy farmer was bad. I wasn’t suppose to make a profit because when I admitted to her I do sell my cows for profit she said I finally “owned” up to it. Once those Vegans get your e-mail they will try their best to convert you by making you feel guilty. They want to destroy our food supply.
The VC says “its all about the money for the dairy producer, They will say anything to protect their profits as that is their primary motivation. Activists are not motivated by profit. They see an injustice and simply want to end it.” The injustice is the activist. As a farmer, we have to pay taxes on profits,(if there ever are any) yet the 501(c)protected animal rights industry hides behind the tax code even though they have no charitable intent. How can you only raise money for political campaigns and lawsuits and be a non-profit. The propagandist machine of the animal rights industry is solely in it to raise money, and then not pay taxes. Since when is trespass ok. Will ABC be there to report when the IRS gets done with these frauds.
Making money is great, as long as no one gets hurt. Dairy production causes terrible suffering for the animals, whether during the dehorning, tail docking or slaughter when milk production decreases (and don’t forget what happens to the male calves).
Cow’s milk isn’t natural. Humans are the only species on the planet that drinks another species’ milk, and we’re the only species that drinks milk after infancy. We don’t need it!
To say the dairy industry isn’t making money is ridiculous. To say it isn’t possible to live without meat, milk and eggs is a lie. To say that causing the suffering and death of millions of sentient animals each and every day is your constitutional right is cruel and callous.
And you wonder why there’s so much violence in the world? It’s because people continue to justify slavery, exploitation and killing.
There is a better way.
Choose compassion. Go vegan.
HSUS collects millions from it’s adds claiming to be the best protection for animals, yet they only spend 3.5% on saving animals and most of that is to kill them. They spend their money on salaries, lobbing, anything to make more profit for HSUS like making made up video’s. The video talked about in this article was taken on three different farms and the one shot on the farm was of a maintenance worker who is probably a HSUS plant, not the farms regular workers. That worker obviously did not know how to do the job correctly or if he did, he was making it look the worse that he could.
HSUS has tax free status but they file their income tax stating that they do no lobbing which is a lie.
Daniel, if you had ever been on a small family farm you would know that our cows do not suffer, maybe it does hurt to have a calf but no more so than a human to have a baby. Also what is the difference if humans leave their babies in daycare and we are suppose to be intelligent beings,mother cows don’t miss their calves after you remove the baby from their site.Tail docking and dehorning are done humanely on our farm with a sedative, they DON’T feel the pain. Like DF says most of those videos are made up (sensational journalism). We are the only species that drink cows milk because we are more intelligent than other species, or at least some of us are.
Hey Daniel-How can you call us cruel when you vegetarians kill innocent plants in ways far crueler than any animal is? Plants are living beings, also. Who are you to say that we cannot “use” lower life forms, but you vegans hippocritacally do?? You obviously are out of touch with reality, and are completely IGNORANT about dairies. As far as “unnatural”, I take it you feel that no one should do anything unnatural…lets see-electricity is unnatural, and not needed, so you must not have it-but how did you use a computor? HIPPOCRIT!! and, the REAL reason there is so much violence in the world, is because too many people think they have the right to tell others how to live, as you and Bea are trying to force your beliefs on us- we’re sick of hearing your twisted, lieing propaganda. Take your vegan crap and stuff it where the sun dont shine!!
Tail docking is very cruel to the cow. Not that it hurts to shorten a baby calves tail all that much. It’s the lack of ability to remove flies from the cows back. You can spray all you want but they still need fly swatters. Horse flies will drive them crazy. I have had dairy cows 22 yrs. Only reason to remove tail is parallel barns where you milk between the back legs. Before they came along it was not done.
we do have a parallel parlor or we wouldn’t dock their tails, but the fans and misters help just as much as a tail to keep the flies away.
A perspective on dairy farming:
The recent video presented by ABC is not a new concept. For many years, anti-animal organizations have been preaching their cause by using various forms of media that portray the negative side to animal agriculture. The fact is, this kind of one-sided approach could be applied to any industry in the U.S. Any industry, whether it is manufacturing, healthcare, entertainment, energy, etc. could be investigated and portrayed as a “bad” thing.
The people behind the cause, as well as the media, have to use an approach that appeals to human emotion because they do not have the background, experience, or knowledge about the dairy industry to present a scientific overview. For example, I have very limited knowledge about Industry X, but my cause is to stop Industry X. I would find the most extreme cases in which an action by Industry X appeals negatively to human emotion. If I have funding, I can broadcast this to the general public and expect a reaction. The goal is the largest reaction possible. It does not matter if my story is actually representative of Industry X. This causes a “snowball” effect with the general public and now there are more mis-informed people with a “cause”.
The Dairy Industry in the U.S. is not correctly represented by the ABC video. It is true that regardless of its size, a dairy farm is a business. A dairy farm is different from other businesses in that it is also a way of life for many people. This means that most dairy owners reside on the farm, and for generations the family has taken pride in producing quality milk, efficiently producing crops, and showing off their favorite animals at the local fair or even at World Dairy Expo. The goal is to turn a profit (not a bad word) while enjoying your work, which in this case is caring for your animals. It is true that healthy, well cared for cows will be more productive than the opposite, so it makes sense that in general, dairymen strive to achieve cow comfort. This is evident on most dairy farms milking 5 cows or 5000 cows. Size is irrelevant as most farms have family ties of some sort.
The video focuses on crippled cows, crowded pens, and human mistreatment of cows. It is true that some cows will develop injuries that cause them to limp or need treatment. Compare this to the human population. I believe if you randomly select 5000 people a percentage of those people will have some sort of ailment that affects their mobility. They are probably being treated to try to minimize the effects of their ailment. In a dairy situation, an injured cow is typically given treatment by a hoof-trimmer who is specially trained to correct the problem. The video makes one assume that most or all dairy cows are crippled.
The video of the crowded pen is interesting. Those who have dairy experience can see that the pen in the video is a “holding pen” which is essentially an area where the cows wait before being milked. The camera angle is shot from above the cows which is why they are looking up (cows are very curious animals) it is not because they have insufficient room to put their heads down. It is the goal of most dairy farms to keep cows waiting no longer than 1 hour in a holding pen. The rest of their time is spent eating, drinking, and laying in free stalls which are made comfortable through the use of sand, wood shavings, straw, or mattresses. (Other management practices exist: pasture, tie-stalls, etc.)
The human mistreatment part of the video is absolutely not commonplace on dairy farms. In most cases, the employee would be fired instantly. Again, producing milk is a function of cow comfort.
Another common misconception is that cows are often given antibiotics to increase production or improve growth and these antibiotics are being consumed by the general public through milk. This is 100% incorrect. As one of the most highly regulated industries, milk goes through a very strict series of testing to ensure that antibiotics are not present. It is illegal to sell milk containing antibiotics. At times, a cow can develop an infection (just like humans) and antibiotic treatment is used to control and cure the infection for the animal’s benefit. During this time of treatment, the milk from this cow is collected separately and discarded. If antibiotics are detected in a tank of milk, the farmer is required to discard the entire tank. Antibiotic resistance, which is a common media topic, cannot come from milk. It is not possible.
I hope these comments help clear up some misconceptions about the dairy industry. To the dairy people, please keep in mind that the organizations are looking for a reaction, so if you respond to these types of posts using emotion or negative comments about their organizations, you are letting them win. It is what they want. Instead, answer their accusations using science based facts and explanations.
Why do you people insist on this notion that dairy farmers only care about profits? approximately 1% of profit on ANY agricultural product is made by the farmer. Everything else goes to marketing, processing, and packaging. Farmers usually are farmers because they enjoy working with the animals/land because they have a calling to work for the community. Its their livelihood and what they love, money is not the largest motivator or else they wouldn’t be farmers in the first place. To feed 1000 head of cattle per day costs nearly $260,000, so yes they want to make money so that they can continue feeding their cattle.
By the way, well said Chad. That’s dead on, I work as a milkhand at my college’s dairy farm.
I have grown up around dairy farmers, and I still dont understand what draws them to this profession.
they do it out of a special calling that is unmatched in any other industry.The dairy farmers I know would keep going until they have their last penny spent. They are certainly not in it for to money, because there was never any money to be made since I’ve been around.
I am an 18 year old college student who has lived on a dairy farm my whole life. My father and I run a 60 cow dairy. We dock tails and dehorn our cows. I have been milking cows my whole and can tell you from first hand experience that cows with tails that have not been docked tend to get dirtier than cows with docked tails. Recently we have stopped docking our cows tails to increase their auction value if we choose to sell them. When it comes to dehorning cows, we will never stop dehorning. Cows are safer to handle and interact with when they do not have horns. We dehorn when the calf is only a few weeks old. The minimal amount of pain incurred will never be remembered by the animal, and it hurts alot less than being gored by another animal who was not dehorned.
You can think whatever you want of these practices, I don’t really care. My family and I will continue to farm it because we love it.
I will never understand how ANYONE can justify ANYTHING if it involves the mistreatment of a living being. That is all that should have to be said!
No one needs to eat meat, dairy or eggs. No one needs to wear an animals skin. No one needs to use a shampoo or cleaner tested by blinding a rabbit. We can all stop using animals immediately with absolutely no ill effects. We will be healthier, the environment will benefit, the starving of the world will be fed and animals will not suffer the rape, torture, terror, abuse and murder that IS the meat, dairy, egg,skin and vivisection industries. These industries spend billions marketing and promoting crap. They are powerful lobbyists. Why would a human adult need to consume the lactic secretions meant for an infant bovine. It is repugnant. Anyone here who genuinely wants to learn and not be conned by these industries (clearly there are those here who are just trying to promote these vile industries) please do your research. You owr it to yourself. The meat and dairy industry have created a nation of obese people with catastrophic health problems. This is not the case in the vegan community. Don’t be against something because someone tells you to. Do your own research. Your life may depend on it. These industries are dying and they will try to survive by any means necessary. THey wont make it. I celebrate their demise. Their existence diminishes the decency of the human character. These industries try to discredit animal advocacy organisations just as attempts were made to discredit those who were opposed to slavery. Right is right and wrong. The brutal enslavement, subjugation, exploitation, abuse torture and murder of non human animals is what these industries do. THEY are the terrorists. They are the ones who butcher and murder for profit. It is incredibly easy to be vegan, easy to turn vegan immediately, healthier and your food will be richer and more diverse. These industries have blood on their hands as it would be on their conscience if they had one. The good news is, they are moribund and I welcome their demise. Of course they will talk endlessly about how kind, compassionate and caring they are. They know people care about animals and they are pandering to this. They will put pictures of ‘happy’ cows on their packaging and logos. It’s all marketing nonsense. The truth is it is a perpetual holocaust beyond the imagination of hell. Remember, there are millions and millions spent getting you to consume this muck, don’t buy it. Do your research. it is NOT good. And, if you by any chance care even the smallest amount for animals, it is unspeakably cruel. We cannot continue with the moral schizophrenia that sees us petting the puppy on our lap and eating the calf on our fork. They are the same thing, with the same feelings. Pigs have been found to be higher in sentience than dogs. How do you justify ‘loving’ dogs and eating pigs. What pigs endure in this meat industry is a blasphemy. It is grotesque and unmatched in its barbarbity. I welcome the end of these vile industries where bullies behave like nazis just because they can. Butcher beat and dismember for profit. We will all be richer when we are without such perversion.
Some of the statements on here are so outragous it isn’t even funny. For one not all male caves are killed, two tail docking is not cruel, people do it to dogs everyday,and dehorning is for everyones safety, cows and goats included. Humans get AI done everyday to have a baby,the medicins given to animals are tested better then the ones given to humans.These thangs are not abuse.Hitting an animal with a wrench is. There is a difference between abuse and careing for an animal as needed. Also farmers and ranchers don’t have animals for the money cause it takes most thier money to feed them and vet bills, they have them because they love the way of life. HSUS knows nothing about raising livestock, they want to remove all animals, that is the bottom line. Most of you probally never had cow or pet in your life, thats sad.