A Florida dairy
that supplies Publix is accused of severely abusing cows, with the release of an undercover video that appears to show cows living in appalling conditions in Okeechobee County.
A second Florida dairy that supplies Publix was accused of severely abusing cows, with the release of an undercover video that appears to show cows being beaten, whipped and forced to live in appalling conditions at Burnham Dairy Farm in Okeechobee County.
Taken by an undercover investigator for an animal rights group, the video shows what the organization described as a harsh regime designed for maximum milk production, as the cows, some sick and others slipping and falling on the slick floors, are hustled into milking stalls. Sicks cows were dragged by tractor to what’s called the downer area, they said, where the animals were allowed to die without veterinary care.
“The cows are living in extreme misery,” Richard Couto, founder and lead investigator for Animal Recovery Mission, which last week released a video showing the abuse of cows at a different dairy, said at a news conference Thursday in Deerfield Beach. “It is a torturous, torturous operation.”
The video was shot from August to October by the group’s undercover investigator, who wasn’t named but who was described as an Army combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The animals’ living quarters are horrific,” Couto said. “They are littered with feces. In some of the barns, the cows are stepping in up to 4 inches of manure, 24 hours a day. To get them out of the holding areas, they’re beaten, they’re whipped, they’re tormented, they’re yelled at. To get them up the ramp, they’re beaten, they’re whipped, they’re tormented. To get them into the milking, they’re beaten, they’re tormented, they’re whipped.”
Publix announced it has suspended deliveries from the dairy. A trade association has put the dairy on probation.
But the Florida Department of Agriculture found only minor problems in the course of an inspection last week in response to a complaint from the animal rights group. The department’s inspectors found the dairy, which had about 1,175 cows, to be clean and well maintained, without any neglected animals or exposed carcasses.
According to the report, owner Randy Burnham said the dairy farm had an increase in cow deaths in recent months because of Hurricane Irma and other storms with heavy rain, leading cows to give birth early and increasing calf mortality. He said that made it difficult to dispose of carcasses immediately.
But Couto said it’s likely the farm cleaned up recently in response to the complaints his group made with more than a dozen government agencies. He said his investigator produced about 1,000 hours of video showing terrible conditions, especially for calves. Permanently taken from their mothers at birth, in accordance with standard industry practice, they were confined to tiny outdoor cages that left them exposed to harsh sunlight and rain, many living in their own feces.
Burnham Dairy didn’t respond to a message requesting comment. Publix said it suspended deliveries from this dairy last week, when its managers first learned of the investigation.
Southeast Milk Inc., the cooperative through which Burnham sells its milk, issued a statement Thursday that said it has started a review of the dairy.