THE DARK SIDE OF DAIRY

In May 2014, an undercover whistleblower with Mercy For Animals documented horrific animal cruelty at the largest dairy producer in Canada, Chilliwack Cattle Company in British Columbia. The abuses caught on hidden camera include:

• Workers viciously kicking, punching, beating, and hitting cows in the face and body with chains, canes, metal pipes, and rakes
• Cows with 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

EXPERT OPINIONS

After reviewing the undercover footage, veterinarian Dr. James Reynolds, an internationally recognized bovine welfare expert, stated: "The actions observed in this video are the most severe cases of animal abuse I have ever seen in 32 years as a bovine veterinarian."

Dr. Mary Richardson, who presided over animal abuse court cases in Ontario, declared: "If this evidence had been presented to me when I was Chair of the Animal Care Review Board for the Solicitor General of Ontario I would certainly have charged these individuals under the OSPCA Act."

DITCH DAIRY

Treated as mere milk-producing machines, cows exploited and abused for their milk endure lives of near constant misery and deprivation.

In order to keep a steady supply of milk, the cows are repeatedly impregnated. Several times a day, dairy cows are hooked by their udders to electric milking machines that can cause the cows to suffer painful lesions and mastitis. Some spend their entire lives standing on concrete floors; others are crammed into massive mud lots.

Cows have a natural lifespan of about 25 years and can produce milk for eight or nine years, but the stress caused by factory farm conditions leads to disease, lameness, and reproductive problems that render cows worthless to the dairy industry by the time they are four or five years old.

These highly intelligent and social animals suffer almost unimaginable abuse from the time they are born and ripped from their mothers' sides until they are so physically worn out from repeated pregnancies and constant milk production that they are sold for slaughter.

Although unconscionable cruelty and violence are standard practice for milk suppliers, caring consumers can help end the needless suffering of cows by choosing plant-based alternatives to milk, cheese, and ice cream.

Please visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.