Five Workers at Wyoming Premium Farms Convicted of Animal Cruelty following Undercover Investigation

“The pigs on this farm are the ones with 2 legs & voices; they just love to abuse the animals in their control. They are sadistic to the extreme, listen to how they speak to the pigs, their sickening actions & the cries of the animals, make me want to weep & puke at the same time! Unfortunately this isn’t the only farm that employs workers who treat animals, as if they are just the shit on their shoes! Many farms & slaughterhouses, employ workers to handle livestock; with no idea that they are employing animal abusers! For the sick bastards who just love kicking the crap out of  animals; working on a farm is an ideal job. But how does the employer know if a potential worker is really just after the job because he enjoys hurting animals; or that they are genuine people, who want to work in the farming trade? Would the farmer employ someone, who’s name is on an Animal Abuse Register?? Not if he loves his animals he wouldn’t…point made!!

So for now, the abuse will carry on & the 2 legged pigs will carry on getting away with it; if Ag-Gag bills are brought into action. These pathetic legislative bills are only there to stop the public from knowing how a certain farm treats its animals! But the public are the ones who keep these companies afloat; so don’t they have a right to know how the animals are treated? The only way of getting to the truth is by someone going undercover! If a company knows someone is coming to inspect them, then of course the farm is spotless & the workers are at their best. But would the outcome be the same if the inspection was not known about before hand i.e under surveillance?

We have undercover shoppers, whose aim is to go into public clothes stores to see exactly how the company treats the public; so what’s the problem carrying out similar actions with livestock? Surely it is more important to know that animals in breeding plants & slaughterhouses are treated humanely; than customers in high street stores, getting a smile with each transaction!!

If I ate meat (which I don’t), I would gladly contribute or want undercover surveillance to find out if the meat I was buying in shops; was being humanely treated before it arrived!! At the moment, undercover surveillance is the only way the public will find out the truth; if Ag- Gag bills are adopted. Think about it, if the owners of said farms are approached & think they have nothing to be ashamed of, they won’t be concerned with Ag-Gag bills, & will gladly accept undercover surveillance! But if a farm or slaughterhouse don’t want undercover agents in their workplace, & they have Ag-Gag bills in place; well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which farm to buy from!

To conclude: don’t buy meat from any supplier that has an Ag-Gag rule; they are trying to hide something!! Lets get Animal Abuse Registers introduced; so employers can check job applicants before employing them to work with their animals, knowing they will treat them with the respect they deserve! Lets not forget, many animal abusers, are often domestic abusers too! For some, abusing animals is only the beginning of a sick criminal life; who end up preying on unsuspecting humans!

Pigs Thrown in Air and Kicked like Soccer Balls at Wyoming Farm: Five Workers Convicted of Animal Cruelty

Five employees from Wheatland, Wyo.-based Wyoming Premium Farms— Patrick Ruckavina, Richard Pritekel, Edward Pritekel, Kali Oseland and David Bienz—have each been convicted on multiple counts of cruelty to animals after a Humane Society of the United States undercover investigation documented acts of animal abuse.

During the investigation, released last year, Wyoming Premium was supplying pigs to meat giant Tyson Foods, which severed its relationship with the farm after the investigation was released.

The investigation documented Wyoming Premium workers kicking live piglets like soccer balls, swinging sick piglets in circles by their hind legs, striking mother pigs with their fists and repeatedly and forcefully kicking them as they resisted leaving their young, among other abuses.

“All animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president for investigations at The Humane Society of the United States. “We are grateful to law enforcement officials for pursuing charges in this case, and we hope that these convictions will deter further abuse of animals on industrial factory farms.”

In addition to the individual acts of abuse which led to criminal charges, The HSUS’ investigation also found breeding pigs confined day-and-night in gestation crates, tiny cages that virtually immobilize animals for nearly their entire lives. Gestation crates, used throughout Tyson Foods’ supply chain, have come under fire by McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Oscar Mayer, Jimmy Dean, Sysco and other nearly 50 other leading food companies, as well as from veterinarians, farmers, animal welfare advocates, scientists, consumers and others

Read More/Graphic – Viewer Discretion Advised – Watch Undercover Investigation:http://m.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2013/04/wyoming-premium-farms-worker-convictions-041113.html

Published on 8 May 2012

Warning: Contains Graphic Footage. Undercover video footage at “Wyoming Premium Farms” revealing egregious cruelty and filthy conditions at a Wyoming pig breeding facility owned by a supplier for Tyson Foods.

Related post:–https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/9-face-cruelty-charges-in-wyoming-pig-farm-investigation/

Shocking Video: Walmart Pork Supplier Caught Abusing Pigs

Published on 17 Jul 2012 by mercyforanimals

Are your Walmart purchases funding animal abuse? Bob Barker issues a consumer warning following a new Mercy For Animals investigation revealing blatant animal cruelty at a Walmart pork supplier. See the secretly recorded video.

http://www.WalmartCruelty.com
http://www.MercyForAnimals.org

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION BELOW:-

Speak Out Against Walmart’s Cruelty to Pigs

Do you think it’s acceptable to cram an animal into a crate so small she can’t even turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, run, play, or engage in other basic behaviors? Walmart does.In fact, the pork sold at Walmart comes from factory farms where pregnant pigs spend nearly their entire lives locked in narrow, metal gestation crates—cages barely larger than their own bodies.

How do I know? Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I am an investigator with Mercy For Animals, and for more than two months I worked undercover at Christensen Farms, a factory farm that supplies pork to Walmart. The misery and abuse that I witnessed at this factory farm will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Thousands of pregnant pigs were confined to barren metal crates barely larger than their own bodies. These pigs could not turn around. They could not walk. They could not even lie down comfortably. I saw pigs with open wounds and bloody pressure sores from rubbing against the bars of their metal cages or lying on hard concrete. Pigs would constantly ram their heads against their tiny stalls or spend day after day, hour after hour, biting the bars of their cages out of frustration. These intelligent and social animals would go insane from boredom and stress.

While all of the abuses I witnessed at Christensen Farms were horrific, the use of gestation crates for pregnant pigs is perhaps the cruelest factory farming practice in the world. In fact, gestation crates are so cruel they have been banned in nine US states, as well as in the entire European Union.

Recognizing their inherent cruelty, major food providers, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Chipotle, and major grocery retailers, including Safeway, Kroger, Kmart, Costco and Whole Foods, have all started demanding their suppliers do away with these cruel crates. But Walmart continue to support blatant animal abuse by selling pork from suppliers who confine pigs in tiny crates.

I am asking that you help the pigs whose suffering I witnessed, as well as the millions of others across the nation who are subjected to similar abuses. Please take a moment to sign my petition urging Walmart to do the right thing and demand their pork suppliers stop confining pigs in cruel gestation crates.

Thank you.

“John”
Undercover Investigator

http://www.change.org/petitions/speak-out-against-walmart-s-cruelty-to-pigs

News Link & other information about the above:–http://www.walmartcruelty.com/#take_action

“I have just found the following article, which links to this video & decided it should be posted with the above. I can’t post the findings due to copyright but basically its as follows:-

A panel of farm animal care specialists established to analyze undercover video investigations at livestock farms has completed a review of an investigation posted on the internet on July 16, 2012 by the group Mercy For Animals’.

 “Please read the following article below in full, in the mean time, here are a couple of  snippets!!!” .

* Overall, these animals were well taken care of. There were no signs of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. The sows were clean, free of lesions, calm and in good condition.”

“No signs of abuse or cruelty?? So having injuries, sores, prolapse’s & smashing piglets on concrete…is ok, its standard practice?? WT…It’s barbaric & for so-called professionals to say it’s ok is disgusting…so if this is industry standard, I assume it goes on in all pig farms & it’s all legal & above-board!! This is one reason why I don’t eat meat”

*Castration/Tail Docking – The panel members agreed the methods shown in the video were standard practice and commonly accepted as proper procedure.

“So we have to assume it’s fair & proper to deny piglets of anesthetic, while parts of their bodies are torn out, how bloody cruel is that… but again, these are the experts…this is standard practice & legal. Well I think it’s stinks of animal abuse!! “

The report:–http://www.feedstuffs.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=F4D1A9DFCD974EAD8CD5205E15C1CB42&nm=Daily+News&type=news&mod=News&mid=A3D60400B4204079A76C4B1B129CB433&tier=3&nid=5F665F6B23A54F3681F5922478BF20E0

SUPPORT PROJECT PIG: TEN MORE NATIONS NEED TO COMPLY ON TIME WITH BAN

Across Europe millions of sows are suffering in silence. They are spending almost their entire lives in cramped, barren sow stalls and this cruelty has to end.

The EU ban on the sow stall is set to take effect from 1 January 2013 but some EU nations say they are not going to be ready on time even though the law was adopted back in 2001.

These countries have had more than a decade to prepare for the ban and we simply cannot allow this vital law to be ignored. This piece of legislation has the potential to help millions of pigs and we must act now to make sure this crucial piece of animal welfare legislation is enforced right across Europe.

Today, we need you to send a message to the organisations that represent farmers in these ill-prepared countries urging them to ensure their members are not only aware of the ban, but that they are taking action to comply with it.

These organisations represent tens of thousands of farmers across Europe and the welfare of millions of pigs is in their hands. View the list of recipients here. Please complete your details below to demand that the members of these organisations comply with the ban on time and in full.

Send our message to the leaders of farmers’ organisations in nations that won’t be ready on time for the sow stall ban*

The deadline for the full implementation of Directive 2008/120/EC on the protection of pigs: group housing of sows is 1st January 2013.

Please click here to sign:-http://action.ciwf.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=119&ea.campaign.id=15267&ea.url.id=92490&ea.campaigner.email=KmIGskm9q9s8Id8OlpmXxz%2BUx%2F5a9CUY&ea_broadcast_target_id=0

California says adieu to foie gras

Coachella Valley restaurateurs lament ban on fattened duck liver, a French delicacy

It’s enough to make Jacques Pépin weep.

By July 1, restaurants throughout California will be removing foie gras — rich fattened duck or goose liver — from their menus.

With the deadline looming, Coachella Valley eateries such as Zin American Bistro and Le Vallauris, both in Palm Springs, are considering hosting farewell parties for the French delicacy.

“With all the other problems in the world, people are worrying about how a few ducks are fed? It’s crazy,” said Michel Despras, owner of Lavender Bistro in La Quinta, which offers a duck foie gras appetizer.

The California Legislature gave the state’s only producer, Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras, more than seven years to devise a “cruelty-free” way of fattening the duck’s liver when it voted on the foie gras ban in 2004.

Absent of that, a coalition of chefs in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have mounted a campaign to overturn the law, using foie gras dinners as fundraisers.

The primary objection to foie gras is the method of feeding, called gavage, which employs a tube and funnel to feed the fowl directly into the gullet, usually beginning four to five weeks before the animal is slaughtered.

“They don’t cut the beak anymore,” said Brent Pollock, executive chef at The Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert. “And truthfully, left alone, the ducks and geese would gorge themselves anyway if you leave enough food out. It’s in the nature. It’s not the only part of the duck that is used. The legs are sold and used in duck confit and breasts are also used.”

While the fowl may be force fed, Mindy Reed, owner of Zin American Bistro and Zini Mediterranean Cafe in Palm Springs, wonders how other animals used for food are treated.

“What about cattle that’s raised for $1 hamburger at McDonald’s or chickens?” she said. “The conditions that those animals are raised in are far worse, and yet no one is trying to ban them in restaurants.”

Read the rest:-http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120607/LIFESTYLES02/206070314/Saying-adieu-foie-gras?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Livestock house video draws animal cruelty charges

SANTA ANA, Calif. –  Prosecutors have filed animal cruelty charges against the owner and seven employees at a Southern California livestock auction house after undercover video shot by an animal rights group showed workers kicking, hitting and tossing the animals as they were readied for sale.

The grainy video, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press and shot by the Los Angeles-based group Mercy for Animals, shows workers at Ontario Livestock Sales in Ontario, Calif., kicking and stomping on pigs to get them to move through a narrow chute, hitting emus with a baton and slinging baby goats by the neck and hind legs. In one shot, two workers drag a sick sheep that can’t walk by its ears and heave it into the back of a van.

Prosecutors have filed a total of 21 misdemeanor counts against the owner, Horacio Santorsola, and seven employees after conducting further investigation with the help of the Inland Valley Humane Society, said Reza Daghbandan, a prosecutor with the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

The defendants, who are not in custody, have a July 20 court date and face a maximum of a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted, he said.

Santorsola, 73, said the case was exaggerated and he and his employees had done nothing wrong.

He has not been cited once in the 18 years he’s owned the business, he said, and grabbing animals by their necks and legs is necessary because they are not tame.

“I think it’s a bunch of crap,” Santorsola said. “How are you going to pick them up? They don’t have a leash. They run, believe me, they do run.”

The video was taken earlier this year over a seven-week period by an undercover investigator using a buttonhole camera, said Matt Rice, director of investigations at Mercy for Animals.

Prosecutors relied on the help of veterinarians to determine which actions crossed the line into criminal behavior, Daghbandan said.

“This isn’t the same standard of care as a house pet would get … but we felt comfortable that these instances went too far,” he said.

Animal handling experts who reviewed the footage called the treatment of the animals, which include emus, pigs, goats, sheep and cows, “brutally improper.”

“If they were to do this to a companion animal like a dog or a cat, everyone would jump up in outrage,” said Holly Cheever, a veterinarian and expert witness in animal cruelty cases who is also vice president of New York State Humane Association.

Cheever said in one shot, a cow appears to be suffering from a prolapsed uterus and is bleeding.

“Even food animals are supposed to be given proper care and protection from abuse and this is very clear cut abuse,” she said. “The dragging of the downed animals, the tossing of the baby animals onto the floor, leaving them gasping and dying: It’s hard to choose any one aspect because it’s pretty unpleasant from beginning to end.”

A website for Ontario Livestock Sales says the family-owned business 40 miles east of Los Angeles holds auctions every Tuesday and handles horses, cattle, goats, hogs and exotic animals. The facility, which was founded in 1936, sells 1,000 to 1,300 animals every week, according to its website.

Mercy for Animals has filmed at livestock facilities around the U.S., including footage at a poultry farm that last year led Target and McDonald’s to drop their egg supplier after undercover footage showed hens packed into cramped cages, male chicks being tossed into plastic bags to suffocate and workers cutting off the tips of chicks’ beaks.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/30/ap-exclusive-video-draws-animal-cruelty-charges/#ixzz1wSkvTXyS

Related:- https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/livestock-auction-atrocities-under-cover-investigation/

Four arrested on animal abuse charges

Troutdale police arrested four people on animal abuse charges Monday evening, May 21, after they allegedly left their dog on a leash tied to the handle of their Jeep’s passenger door and dragged it 600 feet through a truck stop parking lot.

Clockwise from top left: Launa Jean Dickerson, Nicholas A. Falkenhagen, Justin Edward Rinde and Allen Michael Cook

A witness who was at a restaurant in the 700 block of Northwest Frontage Road told The Outlook she saw the Jeep and the pitbull, which was trying to keep up with the speed of the Jeep as it drove through the parking lot.

The witness said the Jeep stopped and a passenger, who had a snake wrapped around his neck, got out. The passenger took the dog off the leash and put it in the Jeep.

The witness said the Jeep’s occupants sat in the parking lot and tried to wash the blood off of the dog’s bloody paws and put socks on them. Several bystanders tried to help them, she said.

The witness said a female passenger seemed upset and distraught about the dog.

The witness said she called police at 8:12 pm

When police arrived they found the pitbull mix, Rhino, bleeding heavily from his paws. A veterinary exam found that Rhino lost most of his footpads and nails.

Police said the dog’s leash was tied to the Jeep’s passenger-side door in the parking lot next to McDonald’s before the Jeep drove to the truck stop. The suspects reportedly told police that they had forgotten about the dog being tied up before they drove away.

The dog’s owner, 20-year-old Launa Jean Dickerson of Portland, reportedly purchased the dog from Craigslist about two weeks ago. Police said Dickerson initially refused to have her dog treated.

Officers eventually took Rhino to a 24-hour veterinary clinic in East Portland. Rhino was treated overnight and was picked up by Multnomah County Animal Services, which has him in safe custody.

Police arrested Dickerson and Allen Michael Cook, 20, of Portland; Nicholas A. Falkenhagen, 21, of Milwaukie; and Justin Edward Rinde, 21, of Portland.

Police said all four suspects are living out of the vehicle, a green 1992 Jeep Cherokee. Police also recovered a rabbit, two kittens, a hamster and a snake, which were taken into custody by animal control.

All four suspects were lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center. Dickerson was later released on her own recognizance.

News Link:-http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story_2nd.php?story_id=133773667500851900

Domino’s Refuses To Move Away From Cruel Sow Gestation Crates

“With sow stalls, its a quick turnaround… it’s not about quality of the meat, or the quality of the pigs life, it’s quantity that counts!  People want cheap fast food, this is how the animals suffer for them. Crates are all about being in control, getting the sow to have as many piglets as possible, being contained throughout pregnancy means humans are in charge of what they eat, when their moved, & when their inseminated again, which is usually straight after a birth…It’s fast pigs…in a crate, literally!”

When it comes to convincing companies to phase out cruel sow gestation crates from their supply chains, this has been a good year. Fast food giants Wendy’s and McDonald’s both announced plans earlier this year to phase out the two by seven foot gestation crates pregnant pigs are kept in.

Big food companies like Compass Group, which calls itself the world’s largest food and support services, announced similar plans. Even Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer on the planet, announced in December its plans to phase out the crates.

Don’t expect a similar announcement from Domino’s, the world’s second-largest pizza chain with over 9,700 locations. 

Domino’s shareholders rejected a proposal last month, submitted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), to stop buying pork from suppliers who use sow gestation crates. Last year, a representative from HSUS asked the company, at the annual shareholder’s meeting, to move away from suppliers that use gestation crates. Domino’s just won’t listen despite the industry move away from the crates, and the fact that they are outlawed in eight states and the EU.

“Domino’s allows its suppliers to confine pigs in crates so small they can’t even turn around for nearly their entire lives,” said Kristie Middleton, food policy manager for the HSUS. “Consumers don’t support this animal abuse and it’s time Domino’s finally caught up with other restaurant companies by getting gestation crates out of its supply chain.”

Clearly many consumers don’t support the use of gestation crates, as a current Change.org petition indicates. The petition, which has received over 135,000 signatures, urges Domino’s to “phase cruel gestation crates out of their supply chains.” It asks why Domino’s can’t do what some of its fellow fast food giants have all done: “If all these huge companies can commit to getting rid of gestation crates, why is Domino’s unwilling to listen to the rest of the industry and consumer demand?”

A few months ago I wrote about the industry move away from gestation crates, and noted that the crates are so small that the sows can’t turn around while confined in them. They are moved to a different crate after giving birth, and post-birth are soon impregnated. Once pregnant again, they are moved back to the crates. Why would Domino’s not want to move away from such a cruel practice in a time when people are much more compassionate about the treatment of animals?

I also noted in my previous article that the increased appetite for meat lead to the rise of factory farms, which is why practices such as the use of gestation crates exist. Americans ate only 168 pounds of meat a year in 1970, and in 2005, ate 185 pounds a year. As I stated then, and stand by now, until Americans commit to eating less meat, factory farming will be a reality. And companies will have to deal with the taint of factory farms.

News Link:-http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/05/dominos-refuses-move-away-cruel-sow-gestation-crates/

McDonald’s Says Pit Bull Ad Not Meant to Offend

When you think of being kind to animals, McDonald’s doesn’t exactly pop up in your head I’m sure. PETA has named the fast food giant ‘McCruelty,’ and the Humane Society has claimed that animal cruelty is behind McDonald’s ‘McRib’sandwich. Celebs, including Ryan Gosling and Zooey Deschanel, joined in and asked McDonald’s to at least start buying free-range eggs after Mercy For Animals’ investigation of their egg supplier, Sparboe Farms, uncovered horrific cruelty.

Now, McDonald’s has added another reason for animal-lovers to say “I’m not lovin’ it.”According to Huffington Post, a recent radio ad compared their new Chicken McBites to things that McDonald’s called risky behaviors, including “shaving your head,” “naming your son Sue,” “giving your friends your Facebook password” and “petting a stray pit bull.” As you can imagine, pit bull lovers were not too pleased with the implication that petting one of the dogs is dangerous.

The ad ran for a few days in the Kansas City area before being taken off the air, but it got a massive response. A toll-free number was set up with McDonald’s recorded apology message from rep, Ashlee Yingling: “The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. As soon as we learned of it, we tracked the source and had the local markets pull the ad immediately. We’ll do a better job next time. It’s never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald’s.”

The Facebook campaign, Pit Bulls Against McDonald’s, was started by Chako Pit Bull Rescue’s social media coordinator Rachele Lizarraga, who called the ad “extremely offensive and reckless.” The page has been liked by over 9,000 Facebook users. Some are demanding that McDonald’s donate to pit bull organizations, but Lizarraga said, “We are just asking them to promote positive pit bull imagery. We are not asking for donations. I don’t think that should be a demand. It was stupid marketing, playing into the media hysteria about pit bulls.”

Laura Goldman, senior editor for ilovedogs.com, also spoke out in support of pit bulls in response to the ad, saying “It made me really angry. It seemed like a stupid advertising campaign, insinuating eating their food is risky. I would rather pet a million stray pit bulls that eat one pink slimy Chicken McBite.” In case you haven’t seen the “pink slime” that becomes McDonald’s chicken nuggets, this is what Goldman is reffering to. Now that looks pretty risky!

You can listen to the McDonald’s ad below.