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An animal protection agency has claimed it has uncovered serious animal abuse on a major dairy farm in the US.
Undercover footage released by the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) also shows calves from Strauss Veal Feeds being kept in pitch black conditions for up to 18 hours a day, with ‘little to no ventilation during summer months’ – when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to investigators, calves raised for veal being ‘brutalized’ during transport, living in ‘horrid’ conditions, and dying of starvation.
An ARM investigator, hired by Strauss Veal Feeds as a calf caregiver, says he witnessed 10-20 calves dying daily – many of them suffering from dysentery, ear infections, and stomach viruses.
‘Shocking and medieval’
“What the ARM investigator witnessed was shocking and medieval. Baby calves living in overheated pitch-black barns. It’s surprising that the veal industry which solely relies on dairy calves to operate is legally still in existence,” Richard ‘Kudo’ Couto, ARM Founder, said in a statement sent to Plant Based News.
The investigation has been dubbed as the ‘clearest proof yet of the link between the dairy industry and the veal industry’, as many of the calves were alleged to come from Farilife: a Coca-Cola affiliated dairy farm that was recently exposed over its ‘horrific abuse’ of calves.
Coca-Cola suspended delivery following the investigation.
Fairlife was also caught lying about selling male calves for veal, with Farm owner Mike McCloskey claiming he’d had no idea it was happening after it was uncovered.
“Due to a lack of communication between the general manager in charge of livestock sales and myself, I was unaware that we were selling our calves to the veal industry and apologize for the unintended false claim made previously. Our bull calves will no longer go to veal,” McCloskey said in a statement.
‘A straight answer’
ARM has since branded Fairlife as a ‘liar’ – asking where else is the farm going to send the 80-90 calves it produces per day if not for veal.
“I would love to get a straight answer out of Mike McCloskey, out of Fairlife and Coca-Cola,” an ARM investigator said in a YouTube video.
