Animal Rights Group Releases Video Of Dairy Workers Kicking, Punching Cows

The animal protection group Mercy for Animals has released a video showing cows being treated roughly at a Wisconsin dairy farm.

The video published on YouTube on Tuesday shows workers at Andrus Dairy Farm in the north-central Wisconsin village of Birnamwood beating, punching, and kicking cows and and cutting cow tails.

The group apparently got the footage after it had an investigator hired by the farm, who then took the footage over this past summer.

On Oct. 30, the Shawano County district attorney’s office wrote in a letter that based on the review of local and state veterinarians, the actions of the employees caught on video do not warrant criminal charges. It added that Andrus Farm would nevertheless be under inspection. The office declined a phone interview.

Mercy for Animals spokesman Nick Cooney contends that the treatment of the cows qualifies as animal abuse.

“It’s clear in this case that crimes did occur, that these are criminal abuses to animals,” said Cooney. “And we are certainly disappointed that the Shawano County district attorney’s office has failed to press criminal charges in this case.”

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is funded by the state’s dairy producers. Vice President Matt Mathison said the board doesn’t condone the treatment of animals seen on the video, and that farmers can get training on best practices for treating cows.

“Keeping the cows healthy, in both animal health, but (also) the environment, the bedding, the way they’re allowed to move around the barn (and) around pasture, are all very important,” said Mathison.

An indirect customer of the farm in Birnamwood, Great Lakes Cheese, says it will not accept cheese made with milk from Andrus Dairy.

Watch the video here. (Warning: Video contains footage of workers kicking and punching cows, as well as cutting tails off of cows.)