Saturday, November 16, 2013

Colorado calves Part II: Animal cruelty charges!


My how things change after an undercover investigation video from a calf facility in Colorado goes viral.

This post is a follow up to my last post about the Compassion Over Killing investigation in Kersey, Colorado. There was a press conference by Compassion Over Killing on Wednesday and then yesterday in Weld County another press conference, but not held by the fine folks at COK. Indeed, this one was held by the Weld County Sheriff announcing that three men were facing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges stemming from what was seen on the video.

The facility is owned by Quanah Cattle Company, a California based operation.

The three men have been fired.

I have tried to verify this and haven't yet, but I am pretty sure this is the first time any type of animal cruelty charges have been filed against employees in Colorado of the animal agriculture business.

I asked Compassion Over Killing about calf operations in Colorado and learned something. Here is what they had to say: "We are also not aware of how many calf-production facilities there are in Colorado. We do know that dairy is the 2nd largest agricultural industry in the state, and all dairy cows need to be continually re-impregnated to produce milk, and half of all calves produced will be male – so it's not a stretch to say there's a huge demand for places to take and raise all these "unwanted" calves."

The sweet, gentle calves in the video are a result of the demand for dairy.

Mike and I have been watching all of the news around this and realized that those in charge at Quanah seem to be reacting with shock, when what we saw in the video happens all of the time in the production of livestock. As I have written before, men like those in the video are cowards. They treat animals like that because they can.

The best way to stop animal cruelty like is seen in the video is to not consume dairy. Super easy in this world of soy, hemp, rice, cashew, and coconut milks. Another way to not only work to stop animal cruelty but to shine a bright light on it is to financially support organizations like Compassion Over Killing. Click here if you'd like to make a donation: http://www.cok.net/  

We would like to thank everyone at Compassion Over Killing for the work they do every day that brings a voice to the voiceless.

Thank you for reading!

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