Animal Rights Group Targets Willet Dairy Farm in Cayuga County

by Michael Small | January 26, 2010 at 05:55 pm
1193 views | 22 Recommendations | 13 comments

Videos

Dairy Investigation Mercy For Animals

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sourced by Barbara McPherson

Dairy Investigation   Mercy For Animals

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Cows in Miami Lakes, Florida

Cows in Miami Lakes, Florida

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uploaded by steve rinker

The animal rights group Mercy for Animals has plans to call a news conference Wednesday where they will show a video they claim captures Willet Dairy inhumanely treating cows and calves.

Willet Dairy is the largest farm in Cayuga County, with around 7,000 cows. Mercy for Animals, which is based out of Chicago, allegedly sent an undercover member inside Willet Dairy to capture the video.

The group says farm workers were found to hit, kick and use electric prods on cows, that cows suffered from open wounds that were not treated, heifers had their tails cut off and their horns burned off without painkillers, cows were injected with hormones so they would produce more milk and calves were dragged away from their mothers shortly after birth.

Mercy for Animals took the video to the Cayuga District Attorney Jon Budelman, but the D.A. says the tape was reviewed but the practices captured on tape were deemed acceptable dairy farm practices.

The owner of Willet Dairy, Lyn O'Dell, was unavailable for comment, but it's worth noting that experts say the majority of cows are treated well, because well cared for animals produce more milk and have a longer life span.

The video can be seen at Mercy for Animal's YouTube channel.


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0
Uwe Paschen

Some of those animal right groups cause more harm then good for the animals them self.

I am aware that abuse does take place in many dairies and animals are pumped up with hormones and antibiotics to grow faster or produce more milk. The Chicken and Swine industry may be the worth when in comes to animal welfare.

The problem lays less with the farms then it does with the consumer and the system over all. Farmers can not survive unless they farm efficiently and with hormones and confined shelters and this causes abuse for the animals.

The only way to change this is by changing the consumer first. 


0
retrovixen

I do not want hormones and antibiotics in my milk just so the dairy "famer" can make more money.  Hormones are harmful to human health and the consumption of antibiotics also affects the human body.  Again, like others, will patronize those dairies who do not do that.

0
Vegaia

Check out this informative and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: veganvideo.org/Also see Gary Yourofsky: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo

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Sharon Parker

More harm then good! What the hell are you talking about -- did you see the video?  Thank God we have groups like this--your coldhearted--go back to your hole.

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yourignorantimnot

You are just plain stupid.

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Barbara McPherson

7 000 milk producers on a plot of land is not a farm.  It's a milk factory.  The "abuse" that the Mercy for Animals uncovered is merely standard practise.  When you eat milk and cheese from these factories you are supporting this treatment of animals.  Where do consumers of veal think that meat comes from?  Dairy cows must produce a calf to produce milk.  In order to produce veal with the nice, light colour veal calves are confined and fed milk substitutes so they will be tender and anemic.  For the public to consume these factory products and sigh over the treatment of the animals is the height of hypocrisy.

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yourignorantimnot

You people are f.....g a..holes. you ingnorant animal rights f...s! Get a clue, don't paint a bad picture for all dairy farmers. Why don't you do something that matters in the world if you feel the need to change it?? Nothing I saw here was cruel, life hurts for people and animals. I think i would rather not have horns than be gorred in the stomoch by my herd mates with all our happy natural horns. Hey people, how much manure do you like on your cows??  A lot, good we will stop docking tails so you can have nice crappy, manure caked udders that your milk comes out of, OK? Oh I forgot, the flies just love a cow that flings waste with her tail, flies are humane and natural, they don't ever look for oppertunities to lay eggs on a live dirty animal, but if they did that's ok, I would much rather have maggots in me than not have a tail. You Sh..s can go anywhere and find protocol broken, Dr.s, resturants, nursing homes, your own homes, child abuse, maybe you can figure the rest out yourselves, hopefully before you finish destroying animal agriculture....We know you all like to eat !!!Keep up your one sided, half the facts BS and you and your stupid followers can all eat dirt. Yep plants are alive to. You would'nt want to hurt a living plant....Would you?

0
vicky rainert

Well, yes, no one wants that.  I would prefer to buy my milk from small farms that don't cram cattle in tiny spaces.  And yes, those of us who feel that way do not eat veal, but eat grain.  Many of us feel there are ways to do things humanely.  For example, would you like to have surgery performed on you without anesthesia?  Probably not.  There is too much cruelty in this world and people like myself would like to see it reduced. 

0
h.a .s.

Umm..that's a ridiculous comment. Plants don't have nerves so therefore cannot feel pain.    If you think they do, you are in fact ignorant.  Animals of course can feel pain because they have nerves just like humans.  I'm a vegan so dairy farmers do nothing for me. Are the animals so filthy because of filthy conditions? Is that why tails have to be docked? I've been to several free range cow farms and the animals did not have their tails docked and they were on no way filthy. The animals also had their horns and none of them were gored. Of course they weren't crammed into factory style pens either.  My family history includes animal agriculture, but on a small scale and animals were treated well.  Farm animals historically were not treated this way. It is only since the inception of factory farms in the last several decades that money became more important then humanity.  I'm not sure you're aware that lots of people don't eat meat or dairy products.  We do have a choice and we can choose not to patronize these types of businesses that promote unnecessary cruelty to make a buck.  Willet Dairy made 12 million last year and have 93 employees.  They're good at capitalism, (as all factory farms are) they're just not good at anything else having to do with cows.

0
hadenoughbull

Nothing you saw was cruel huh? Are you alive? How about we come to your home and burn your horns (ears) cut off your tail (ass) and drag off your newborn after it looks into your loving eyes for the first and last time. You can watch it die while we steal all the milk that was meant for it. Not cruel you say? Well O.K. lets do it to you then.

0
proud-dairy-farmer

Id like to first present that not all dairy farms are run this way. you "humane rights activists" are all ignorant f...s. I agree with "yourignorantimnot" all the way. you guys are arrogant and loaded with this one sided bullsh.t. not every dairy farm is run this way. only a small percentage. open your eyes and stop targeting the diry farmer that treats his anmals this way. and look a little bit farther to the farmers that treat their animals like kids. open up and eat a big wad of meat. your a bunch of unorganized grab-a..ing pieces of sh.t

0
hadenoughbull

hey proud and ignorant - why can't you have an intelligent conversation. You just bring even more disdain to your cause when every other word out of your mouth or key on your keyboard is as filthy as willett keeps it's farm - oops I  meant factory.Cow milk was meant for one thing - the baby cow it gave birth too. Before you say anything - no I don't drink cows milk and haven't touched meat since 1989 when my eyes were opened to the nonstop torture you exist on.I am however, very happy to hear your treat your cows well and wish that others would learn from you. Since you care about your cows as if they were your children you should be saving your swear words for the same slimeballs our words are directed too. Sounds like to me we are on the same side.

0
hadenoughbull

its not a farm its a factoryu

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Uwe Paschen
First Flagged at 7:34 PM, Jan 26, 2010 by Uwe Paschen
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