Tell Saputo to Stop Supporting Horrific Animal Cruelty

[MortgageQueen]

Please sign the petition to Saputo to take responsibility for their suppliers.

hidden-camera footage reveals:
• Workers viciously kicking, punching, beating, and hitting cows in the face and body with chains, canes, metal pipes, and rakes
• Sick and injured cows suffering from open wounds, oozing infections, and painful injuries left to suffer without proper veterinary care
• Workers using chains and tractors to lift sick and injured cows by their necks
• Workers poking and squeezing festering wounds, ripping clumps of hair out of cows' sensitive tails, and punching bulls in the testicles
Unfortunately, these abuses are merely a sample of the ongoing cruelty and violence documented at this Saputo dairy supplier.
Saputo is responsible for establishing meaningful animal welfare policies and oversight to ensure that cruelty and neglect don’t flourish on its watch.
No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that beat, kick, and neglect animals.
Saputo must take immediate action to prevent further abuse by its suppliers.
Saputo has the power and the ethical responsibility to help end some of the worst forms of animal cruelty in the dairy industry.
Please join Mercy For Animals Canada in calling on Saputo to immediately implement meaningful animal protection guidelines for all dairy suppliers, including zero tolerance for animal abuse, care for “downers,” and video monitoring systems.

If you can stomach it, you can watch the video showing the abuse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEDW78ruLTM

Sign Petition here:
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitio...eg3tjSXYoWA%3D

[Natalka]

What happened was absolutely horrible. I won't watch the video, though.

I heard both the farm owner and his vet interviewed recently on CBC radio's As It Happens. The owner did not know of the abuse - it was done by newer employees and not family members (it's a family farm). He's taken responsibility in that he realizes those employees were not properly trained, or else they would not have done what they did. He hadn't yet heard whether he would be charged.

The vet visits the farm several times a week, and while he said he did not see any evidence of abuse on the animals themselves, he doesn't dispute that it happened.

[Patty Smyth]

The woman from Mercy for animals was on the radio yesterday and she said the owner did know because the undercover person told him and he still did nothing.

http://www.cjad.com/NationalCP/article.aspx?id=424902

Anna Pippus of Mercy for Animals, called the treatment sadistic.
She said the undercover employee went to a supervisor and no action was taken. However, a video of the exchange shows someone identified as Brad Kooyman expressing dismay that an employee was hitting the cows.

[Natalka]

The eight employees have been fired and still may face charges.

Dairyland and Saputo issued a statement in light of these allegations:


“Saputo is outraged by the alleged incidents having taken place at the Chilliwack dairy farm. We do not condone any form of animal cruelty and we expect milk producers to adopt proper animal care methods at all times. Since being informed of this horrible situation, we have voiced our concerns through the BC Dairy Council, which acts on behalf of dairy processors in British Columbia, to both the BC Dairy Association and the BC Milk Marketing Board (BCMMB). Furthermore, we fully support the SPCA’s investigation and actions.”

http://www.kelownanow.com/news/bc_ne...ack_Dairy_Farm

[Patty Smyth]

The eight employees have been fired and still may face charges.

Dairyland and Saputo issued a statement in light of these allegations:


“Saputo is outraged by the alleged incidents having taken place at the Chilliwack dairy farm. We do not condone any form of animal cruelty and we expect milk producers to adopt proper animal care methods at all times. Since being informed of this horrible situation, we have voiced our concerns through the BC Dairy Council, which acts on behalf of dairy processors in British Columbia, to both the BC Dairy Association and the BC Milk Marketing Board (BCMMB). Furthermore, we fully support the SPCA’s investigation and actions.”

http://www.kelownanow.com/news/bc_ne...ack_Dairy_Farm

The problem with this is it's very easy to react with shock and outrage once you have been caught. We see this time and time again people, higher ups, claiming ignorance when in fact this will turn out to be a standard in the dairy industry.

If we treated animals with kindness and had all cruel free farms the production would slow down so much people would starve. There is no humane way to mass produce food for the consumption of 7 billion people.

[abbasgirl]

I don't blame Saputo for this at all. I doubt they've ever even been to the farms that they buy their milk from. It's possible that the owner didn't know, but I have my doubts about that. As a family farm, family members would have been working with the employees and should have had some idea about what kind of people they are. I grew up on a dairy farm and there is absolutely no excuse for what I saw on the video!

[Ashutosh Jha]

second that

[MortgageQueen]

I appreciate everyone's very intelligent and balanced comments. I too find it highly unlikely the Farm owner knew nothing. Likely it had been going on for longer than we know. Saputo does have a responsibility to know what's going on at these farms because they've put their name on it and in return have asked us, the buying public to place trust in their "quality brand".

I won't get into mass producing because it's such an exhaustive subject, but it brings to mind the autistic lady (forget her name?) who invented a cruelty free way to slaughter cows. Anything can be done if we put our commitment into getting it done.

[DaveP]

I won't get into mass producing because it's such an exhaustive subject, but it brings to mind the autistic lady (forget her name?) who invented a cruelty free way to slaughter cows. Anything can be done if we put our commitment into getting it done.

Temple Grandin? I've seen her interviewed a few times including by George Strombo... however you spell it. Impressive lady.

[abbasgirl]

^She is an amazing lady, both for what she has done to improve conditions in the cattle industry and for what she has done to improve how we understand and provide services to children with autism.

[abbasgirl]

I'm satisfied with Saputo's response after they found out about the abuse. But I will repeat that they would have no way of knowing what was happening beforehand. The milk would have been shipped to their facilities through a third party and even if for some reason they did decide to inspect the farm, the workers wouldn't have beaten the cows right in front of them. I think this farm needs to be inspected on a regular basis by the SPCA.

[abbasgirl]

The milk marketing board has suspended pick-up until the issues are resolved:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...ideo-1.2675617
This is exactly how I think things should have been handled. All the blame goes to the farm itself.

[Natalka]

The BC Milk Marketing Board says milk from a Chilliwack cattle farm under investigation for alleged animal abuse will be destroyed.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1399505/mi...-be-destroyed/

[abbasgirl]

^ Yep! That is the natural consequence of taking this action. The cows still need to be milked, so what do they do with the milk? This whole thing is such a mess!

[Mia001]

it'S very ashame how some people treat animals in our days....i trusted Saputo....
, these are things that push me more and more on the vegan way

some of my family members had farms and ther animals were well treated
we used to play with little lambs and veals ....and mock (spl) the turkey (lol)...at my grand father....but we would never , never make anything bad to them