Midstate dairy farm fires worker after video shows cows getting punched and kicked
Photo by Screenshot of Compassion Over Killing video
A screenshot from the video from the advocacy group Compassion Over Killing shows a cow getting kicked by a worker at Mason Dixon Farms in Gettysburg.
(Harrisburg) — A video from an advocacy group shows workers punching and kicking cows at a dairy farm in the midstate.
In the four-minute video, workers are shown striking the blows in the face and the udders.
Mason Dixon Farms says its fired one of the workers.
Compassion Over Killing says an undercover investigator filmed the acts at Mason Dixon Farm between last October and this January.
Mason Dixon, in Gettysburg, is one of the largest dairy farms on the East Coast.
“They’re jabbing them with pens or elbows, twisting them or bending their tails. We also saw the use of an electric prod, including one animal who was shocked over 100 times,” says Cheryl Leahy, general counsel for the group.
Leahy says they’ve asked the Adams County SPCA to investigate the case, and says there are other concerning acts in the video. “We’re seeking criminal charges for the abuse. Our understanding is that is ongoing and we’re hoping that that actually does happen,” she adds.
Mason Dixon Farm belongs to the Dairy Farmers of America, and it says it has worked with authorities to bring charges as well.
But DFA says the video is highly edited, and doesn’t represent the how dairy farms run their business.
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