Sep 29, 2009 6:36 pm US/Central
Minn. Dairy Company Under Fire From PETA
(WCCO)
-
-
Land O'Lakes said the farm was inspected in June by a state-certified inspector and passed the inspection.
CBS
The animal rights group PETA says a Minnesota company, Land O'Lakes, contracts with a dairy farm that mistreats its cows. However, the company says that's not true.
PETA gave WCCO the undercover video Tuesday. The video is of Reitz Dairy farm in Shamokin, Penn.
The video shows cows milked while covered in urine and feces. PETA says Land O'Lakes knew about the conditions.
"There was a Land O'Lakes representative who was there to presumably inspect the facility at the end of June 2009. He even noted that the milking parlor wells should be cleaned as well as other areas" said Daphna Nachminovitch, Vice President of Cruelty Investigations.
Land O'Lakes said the farm was inspected in June by a state-certified inspector and passed the inspection.
Jeanne Forbis, the Director of Communications at Land O'Lakes, said, "I want to make sure you understand is that when state-certified inspectors do inspections at dairy farms they are inspecting for milk and equipment sanitation practices, not animal treatment."
PETA said some of the cows had infections and were not treated properly. Some were so sick they could not stand up. A worker couldn't get one cow to stand up so he kicked it.
"They really are treated as if they have no basic needs, some of these cows were deprived of basic things like food and water," said Nachminovitch. "They're really treated like machines, milking-making machines."
Land O'Lakes says they are looking into the investigation. They released a statement that read: "Land O'Lakes is strongly committed to the proper care and humane treatment of animals and we take such claims of animal mistreatment extremely seriously."
Land O'Lakes does not own cows because their dairy comes from independent farmers. The company says they are quote: aggressively looking into this situation.
"People can look for themselves and decide whether they want to put that in their mouth or not," said Nachminovitch.
PETA wants Land O'Lakes to adopt a 12 point animal welfare plan. It includes making sure suppliers keep animals in clean, dry areas. It also requires a vet be on-call for emergencies.
Sonya Goins, Producer
Contact Sonya
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Welcome To The Crime Scene Corner
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
