Mercy for Animals Covert Investigation Captures Horrific Animal Abuse at Major Cheese Supplier

Hidden-Camera Video from Mercy For Animals Shows Wisconsin Dairy Workers Kicking and Punching Cows, and Hacking Off Tails With Pruning Shears; Group Calls for Change

News provided by

Mercy For Animals

Nov 12, 2014, 07:00 ET

GREEN BAY, Wis., Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hidden-camera video footage from Mercy For Animals, recorded at Andrus Dairy in Birnamwood, Wisconsin, shows workers viciously kicking and punching cows, hacking off their tails with pruning shears, shooting them in the face and nostrils with high-pressured water hoses, and dragging them by their necks with ropes attached to tractors. Andrus Dairy is a milk supplier to Ohio-based Great Lakes Cheese, one of the largest cheese companies in the country and a supplier to major grocery chains.

World-renowned animal welfare expert Dr. Temple Grandin reviewed the graphic undercover video footage and stated: "The handling of dairy cows in this video is not acceptable. Employees must be trained to never kick or hit a cow's udder or face. High pressure water shot in the eye is abusive."

Mercy For Animals is also calling on Great Lakes Cheese to immediately adopt meaningful animal welfare guidelines and oversight for all of its dairy suppliers, including zero tolerance for kicking, punching, and shocking cows; requiring suppliers to prohibit painful and unnecessary mutilations of animals; requiring suppliers to provide a safe, clean, and sanitary environment for cattle; and the installation of video monitoring systems that live stream to the Internet to help deter abuse.

Undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals at dairy factory farms across the country have exposed widespread and sadistic acts of animal abuse – highlighting a problem that runs rampant in the dairy industry. Following similar investigations by Mercy For Animals, both Kraft Foods and Nestle, the largest food company in the world, announced industry-leading animal welfare policy reforms.

"Treated as mere milk-producing machines, cows exploited and abused for Great Lakes Cheese endure lives filled with misery and deprivation," said MFA's president, Nathan Runkle. "No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that beat, kick, shock, and drag animals. Due to its complete lack of meaningful animal welfare standards, Great Lakes Cheese has allowed a culture of cruelty to flourish in its cheese supply chain."

To view the undercover video, visit GotMisery.com.

SOURCE Mercy For Animals