Shocking, disgusting undercover video has surfaced of workers at a dairy farm kicking, shoving, and prodding cows with metal rods. (scroll down for video)
The footage immediately sparked outrage from the public, prompting one major supermarket chain in Florida to suspend the sale of their products.
Undercover animal rights activists from Animal Recovery Mission gained access to Larson Dairy in Okeechobee County, Florida, by landing a job inside the farm.
What was witnessed has left countless people sickened and furious.
Workers are seen using the cows as literal punching bags, all while they are tightly restrained in metal cages, unable to move or defend themselves:
Metal rods are also used to bash cows over the head or even viciously stab them—a crude technique to compel the animals into obedience as their milk is sucked out for human consumption.
In the following image, you can see the metal rod used to stab the cows:
In this image, the rod is used to smash cows over the head, while the man in the background is seen with one foot raised, right before kicking it in the head:
Among the many reasons to be outraged, one of them includes the farm’s owner, Jacob Larson, and his disgusting attempts to rationalize the revelations.
In one statement, Jacob tried to shift blame off his farm and pin it onto the animal rights group, Animal Recovery Mission, questioning why they continued to film the abuses instead of immediately reporting them.
“I think they have an agenda,” said Larson, “They want to put farms out of business.”
It’s easy to understand why the undercover investigators would seek as much footage as possible before going public with it—the general public needs extensive, high-quality videos and images of the torture taking place in factory farms in order to feel compelled to put a stop to it.
And indeed, the group’s efforts have paid off after one of Larson’s biggest clients, Publix Supermarkets, decided to suspend purchasing of dairy products from the farm, releasing this statement:
“We are disturbed by the images and shocked by the cruelty shown toward the animals.
“We are suspending raw milk deliveries from that farm.
“At Publix, we care about and are committed to animal welfare.”
Florida dairy loses as client following animal abuse scandal https://t.co/5kYBRp0OgD
— CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami)
In a separate statement issued by Publix to a concerned customer on their Facebook page, the company added:
Larson Dairy reacted swiftly to the exposé, firing one of the employees from the video and suspending two others.
Larson insisted such abuses are not part of normal operating procedures—which is difficult to believe when multiple workers are seen engaging in the abuse.
“If cows aren’t cool, clean, and comfortable,” added Larson, “they’re not producing quality milk. So we’ve gotta take excellent care of our cows. When have numerous herd health protocols with our veterinarian staff to help us with the training of these technicians.”
In a statement so ironic it’d be funny if the context wasn’t so tragic, he emphasized, “no different than a hospital with a bunch of nurses taking care of patients.”
Hospitals are where you go when you’re ill—when you feel bad. By his own analogy, tortured and confined cows are, indeed, like patients in a hospital—clinging to life, sick by definition.
You Can Watch the Shocking Undercover Video Here:
Sources: CBS Local Miami