This afternoon I got an email about a new video that the People For Ethical Animals (PETA) had posted on their social media sites. My first thought was to roll my eyes, PETA isn’t exactly known to be the sane voice in animal welfare or even animal rights for that matter, but never the less I went and watched the video.
After watching the video for the first time I was disgusted! The video shows cows slogging through incredibly deep manure. Their legs are dirty and the amount of manure in the barn is unbelievable!
I started talking to other dairy farmers about this video and how there was absolutely no defending it when I realized something… The barn they show really is unbelievably dirty… as in so dirty that you have to ask yourself if what they are showing you is really real.
As I watched the video again I realized that the cows themselves were telling me the truth…
Wow, that’s an awful lot of manure they are walking through… These are horrible conditions! But… Wait… I see something that doesn’t make sense….
I see a lot of manure, I see cows with dirty legs. But I see something else, something that most people that aren’t around cows wouldn’t even think about or notice…
Clean Tails? Clean Tummy? Look at that bright white tail on the first cow.
Our cows live in a “freestall” barn like this. The cows lay in a stall with their butt towards the alley. The alley is about 6 inches lower than the stalls the cows lay in. This is designed this way so that when a cow poops (remember cows have no problem pooping while laying down) the poop falls away from the cow and her udder.
This is our freestall barn. You can see the drop between the alley and the stalls where the girls lay. The girls are relaxing in their clean, comfortable stalls. What’s interesting about this photo is that I took it when our cows had full access to pasture. Instead of going outside, they were hanging out inside under the fans where they were most comfortable. We scrape the manure out of the alley twice a day while the girls are being milked.
However in this video the alley is so full of manure that if a cow was laying in the stall not only would her hips end up with manure on them, her tail would be covered in it. Once her tail was covered in manure and she flicked at flies, the rest of her body would be covered in manure as well. None of the cows in the video are dirty like that!
If you look at the cow above the knees… she’s clean. Wait? What? How could that possibly be the case if she was living in such filth? I think her expression fits my feelings about this video!
Look beyond the manure… clean tails, clean bellies.
When I look beyond the manure I see a group of cows that are clean when if they were living in this barn they would be filthy from head to toe. I see a feed area with not a scrap of feed in it and my experience in dealing with manure tells me that this stuff has been moved around recently. While I don’t know this farmer and I don’t know the story about what’s going on here, to me it looks like these cows were paraded through this area for the purpose of making this video. The lack of feed in the feed area, coupled with the amount of manure makes me wonder if this part of the barn was being used for temporary manure storage rather than to house cows. That may be odd but it’s not abusive to the cows!
Aside from the manure situation let’s look at what the rest of the video says…
Voiceover Man Says- “This cow, only identified as ‘2’ by a tag on her ear…”
Ok Mr. Voiceover man, this is kinda silly. I’m guessing that you didn’t ask the farmer about this cow. Maybe you tried asking the cow herself how she would like to be addressed?
This is like taking a photo of a guy waiting at the DMV and saying “This man only identified as 463, by the number in his hand.”… If you asked me I could tell you everything about my cows, from their name to who their mother and grandmother is but if you walked onto my farm you would see numbers in their ears.
What’s going on here?
Here Mr. Voiceover man says that this cow is clearly emaciated because you can see her bones. I’ve covered this topic already HERE. The cliff notes version is that unless a cow is morbidly obese, you will always see it’s hip bones. This is how cows are built, they are not hippos nor should anyone expect them to look like hippos!
The voice over in the video calls this farm a “Dairy Factory” however from what I can see in the video, their milking parlor is smaller than ours, meaning that they aren’t set up to milk a lot of cows.
About that manure pit?
This manure pit looks pretty dang full to me. Mr Voiceover man tells us that it’s been sitting so long that the top hardened. Well, first of all, the point of having a manure pit is for it to contain manure until the farmer is able to haul the manure out without having to worry about runoff from heavy rains or snow melt. I wrote about how farmers handle manure HERE. Secondly, this manure pit is under a roof. This allows the farmer to divert rainwater from the manure pit, that’s a good thing! That would also explain why the top of the pit is dry.
This is our manure pit. It’s not under a roof and we have had a pretty dry summer. It’s getting hard on top too. Does that mean that our cows aren’t cared for? Of course not! What does it mean when a manure pit has a dry top? Not much!
PETA almost tricked me with this one. I watched the video and was ready to go and kick this farmer’s butt myself. If this video really showed what it says it shows the line of dairy farmers wanting to make sure this farm went out of business would stretch for miles. Nobody wants to see cows kept in conditions like this, especially dairy farmers. I can totally understand how many people will watch this and walk away with a bad impression of not just this farm but all farms.
Of course that’s what PETA wants. As they say in the video, they want you to to go vegan. PETA claims that the milk from this farm went to Harris Teeter stores, however the milk company that buys milk from this farm has said that is incorrect. Considering PETA’s track record on getting their facts right, that’s not very surprising.
I don’t know what the full story is here and I’ll certainly do more checking but I feel confident that what the video is trying to show isn’t how things really are. If I find more information out, I’ll update this post.
I’m glad I took the time to watch this video again and see the real story. Unfortunately the Associated Press picked this story up this afternoon and sent it out to thousands of newspapers and television statements. Because of that, dairy farmers like myself get an undeserved black eye and now have a huge hill to climb to get the correct information out. I hope you’ll share this post with your friends and not let PETA pull the wool over more people’s eyes.
To learn more about how dairy farmers care for cows please visit these sites-
The Dairyland Initiative
Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
UPDATE-
I don’t trust PETA. They tend to film in a manner that doesn’t tell the whole truth much of the time. Like the manure area shown in the video. It may be a small area, while 99% of the area the cows are in is clean. Surely the cows get washed off etc before milking. And what time of year was the video made? Winter when even pasture land can be mucky and wet because of rain?
And I dislike PETA and now the Humane Society thanks to thoughtful comments by you and others here. PETA boasts about rescuing dogs, yet they put many a dog down if they cannot find a home for the dog. They do not invest in retraining dogs that have been rescued from horrid situations.
I say all this as someone who strives to be vegan or at least vegetarian.
Thanks for commenting Beth. PETA cares more about drumming up donations than they do getting true information out. That doesn’t help either side.
What about the pigs being tortured? I saw the videos peta posted and they’re horrible how can they do that? Where do they get those videos from? I am confused now :/
PeTA has paid someone $10,000 to chainsaw a live pig, and another large sum of cash to a man to get him to skin an animal alive, all for the sake of making snuff videos. Don’t trust anything they put out.
Where is your evidence of this $10,000 donation? I think PETA is a much more benign organisation than you might think. They are an extremely transparent organisation, much more so than there for-profit counterparts. Their most controversial stunt was the comparison between holocaust victims and animals. I agree that this was insensitive and PETA had gone too far on that account. But they are not, by their own regulations, allowed to fabricate or contrive any circumstances when filming. I think there is a fear that PETA is trying to subvert everyone’s meat-eating lifestyle. I support PETA but I still eat meat, it is a matter for the individual to decide. There are enough crises and gratuitous animal abuses and injustices in the world that PETA would not have the time, energy, or will to fabricate the results.
Sources:
Deckha, 2008. ‘Peta and the ethics of animal advocacy’
Sunstein, 2003. ‘The rights of animals’
PETA full policy, 2014 (accessed at https://www.peta.org/about-peta/learn-about-peta/website-policies/)
For Profit Counterparts??? Less than 10% of all donations actually goes to “helping” animals in any way and that is why PETA just got their non profit status revoked by the IRS.
I live in the county where this was filmed. No one loves animals more than I, so I rode to the farm. I recognized it in the video and went out to see for myself. It is much like any other dairy farm I have seen. Cows are, by nature, very messy creatures. We have had a lot of rainy days this season. Our county has very strict regulations about transfer of manure. If there is a prediction of rain, it cannot be hauled. It stays in a pit and actually runs a trough to the pit. The thing I saw was a regular farm with a hard working bunch of people barely making a living. The cows were actually very clean. Some of them had dirty legs, but the rest of their bodies were clean. They were no skinnier than any other cows. (I have ridden a cow before and let me tell you they are bony. I don’t suggest it.) I have never owned cows, but I have owned horses. I have not seen the good PETA has done. I have seen some bad. In this case, it is bad. I guess we can all just convert over and eat grass. Who needs farmers? Those money grubbers that work for about $2.00 an hour can get a job at minimum wage and make a descent living. I would never do the job they do. Sir, in this case, PETA and you are wrong.
Kelly Teague
Waynesville, NC
The farmers round here drive $70K pickup trucks. I don’t know about your claims to working for $2.00/hour. I’ve seen worse conditions so PETA does bring awareness to the minds of those who might not otherwise think about it.
Peta is good and i defend them cause they defend animals it is very easy to criticize PETA but prove it and stop making stupid accusations what are you doing for animals? You as a person?.. Nothing so shut up.. Unless you do something for animals as PETA do they help and care about all animals!
Wow that was a very intelligent post! This video is a perfect example of their staging. Thanks Carrie for taking time to point this out.
.”Do something for animals as PETA do,” Animal lover? I can’t (and don’t want to) think of anything that tops collecting dogs & cats from rural shelters and vet offices in eastern NC, injecting them with death juice in a PETA van behind a Piggly Wiggly grocery and tossing them into dumpsters before driving back to PETA HQ in Norfolk. And what kind of defending of animals is it that annually causes 90+% of the pets that PETA takes in to be killed? Go check the VDACS (VA Dept of Agriculture & Consumer Services) shelter stats page yourself.
Last week, I picked up 6 dogs from a sad 20+ dog owner surrender at my local shelter and delivered them to a responsible rescue organization that will nurse them back to health, find them homes and make sure that they live out the rest of their lives comfortably. That’s what it means to defend animals. I won’t worry about my neighbors, the dairy farmers, cuz I know their cows all have names and live more healthy lives than most human city dwellers!
ProjectMinfulness- please note the fact that a German court CONVICTED PeTA of paying to stage a video of an animal skinned alive.
https://m.facebook.com/notes/real-women-wear-fur/peta-admits-skinned-alive-is-a-myth-and-they-intentionally-slander-chinese/701702739844129/
Born & raised on a Dairy farm. I noticed everything you mentioned. If they were in that deep of manure everyday. Even just a few days I guarantee the cows tails would be 1 mud ball. Even though We don’t have dairy cows today anyone raising cattle can spot a staged show.
As I said I don’t have cattle.
I baled hay for a very small dairy farmer for a month in the 1960s (25 cows), so I can be called not even close to knowing much. But after watching this story every thing made complete common sense. I think Peta’s main funtion is for celebreties to have a place hang their coat and look responsible to the public. (usually nude at that)
PETA kills animals period they do not try to “find them homes” except in their walk in freezer. meanwhile GREAT dissection of a carefully staged video. we need more like you doing this.
truth is PETA kills more cats and dogs than kill shelters. There was an article where an elderly couple had to go into a nursing home and had to give up their young dog. It was euthanized before they even left the property. PETA is set up only to make money, not for the benefit of animals.
Id like to point out you said they put down dogs that they cant find homes for…. I have some sad news for you. They put down healthy animals that arrive within 24hours. They also steal peoples pets and kill them… peta was caught stealing a healthy dog on camera off of a families porch while the family was away.
peta is not for animals… they are for animal liberation as in free all the animals and any animal is better off dead then in the hands of a human.
They are more if a cult then anything.
Not to mention the fact they claim this was an ‘undercover’ video. I think I would know if someone was in my dairy filming the cows. What a setup!
People need to do more research on PETA. Not only do they want people to go vegan, but they don’t think anyone should have pets-dogs, cats-anything that’s a companion animal.
And they have no qualms about killing them, either. PETA is many things, but humane and ethical are not even remotely close to the truth.
Well, the destruction of animals is essential I’m afraid. While the world is full of careless people not desexing their pets we will always have an overpopulation in pounds. In new Zealand we have lost so many native species of animal due to domestic cats and dogs. Less Kiwis and Kakapos, but yet poor fifi and tinkerbell are preggas again with their ninth litter.
in the USA 83% of all owned dogs are “desexed’ and over 90% of cats. Why not move here if you are so unhappy with NZ and their tawdry ways. I have visited your country and loved it. Animals of all sorts were very well cared for.
Agreed. *However*- folks believe that if they turn over strays to PETA that they will be treated; found new homes, etc. They don’t know that PETA doesn’t treat or rehome; they don’t even try. Because they believe no animal should be a pet, they really believe those animals are better off dead. {They’re often not, but they don’t even bother.}
Until folks regularly spay/neuter and it’s cheap, the problem is unlikely to go away. Pretty sure I won’t see it solved in my life time. :/
Tikktok – you might not know it, but in many, many large areas of the US, the problem of stray animals IS solved, or nearly so. Where I live in the upper midwest, I can’t remember the last time I saw a stray dog. There have been 2 or 3 ‘loose” dogs in my neighborhood in the past twenty or so years, and once one of my own dogs escaped through a loose board in the fence, but those are not strays. The result is that the local “humane society” has quit all animal control services (too expensive to maintain a staff and equipment, vehicles, to do real rescue work on such a small scale) and is now what is called a Retail Rescue Pet Store, importing dogs (their cats they choose from the county AC, the pound), mostly puppies*, from southern states that everyone knows but will never speak out loud, are bred specifically for the “rescue market” in southern states.
*If you understand shelter population statistics, you will know that puppies are very rare. So how come this Retail Rescue Pet Store finds many thousands in what they claim are ‘kill shelters’ in other states . . . . well, use your imagination. Those puppies have never seen the inside of a shelter, they were picked up by Petsmart Charities Rescue Waggin’ and come with a label of “live release” from some non-profit that is using those puppies to look good on paper when their county or primary funding source reviews the statistics and decides if the director should keep his/her job . . .
So, problem solved in one place is setting up another feel-good con game, shell game, elsewhere. And sharing diseases and parasites from geographical areas where they were isolated before this practice began. And for historical reference, this started following a mass ‘rescue” effort after Hurricane Katrina, and is called by a euphemism “humane relocation”. It is better described as “dog trafficking”, and it extends to the entire globe, and is growing. The leaders in the humane groups encouraging these scams are HSUS and the ASPCA. PeTA is merely the trained monkey, like the carnival barker to get people to pay attention. Partners in crime.
I’m glad your city has it solved. I’ve never lived anywhere that didn’t have a problem with strays. Nowhere. Shelters are always overflowing. Most have low cost spay/neuter programs in place, and while that helps, it’s not a complete solution.
in the US they actual import dogs from other countries that when imported do not require a health certificate. There have even been protest from other countries about the US importing these animals that are actual stolen from their owners and shipped here.
Not to get off the topic, but just this past week a quite momentous announcement was made by the USDA in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on this very problem. This battle took about SIX YEARS to finalize, nothing in government works fast, and there were a lot of groups who fought against this, primarily so-called “rescue” groups like MexiMutts, which don’t really ‘rescue’ in the true sense of the word, but are picking up free merchandise from the streets of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bosnia/Herzogovena, China etc. and SELLING animals to unsuspecting Americans. It’s called Dog Trafficking for profit. Read this please: https://naiaonline.org/blog/animal-policy/new-usda-regulation-a-boon-to-public-health-and-safety/#.U_iwMFPepJY
Considering I lived in Mississippi and volunteered as a driver and foster for this “trafficking” operation I think my experience should be heard. In Mississippi there are packs of dogs that run around reproducing like rabbits, there are owners who do not think it is their responsibility to spay/neuter or even contain their animals, and there are of course the back yard breeder/hoarder. Those of us looking out for the welfare of the animals try to educate owners, provide low cost to no cost spay/neuter options, and try to get every animal possible off the streets and sterilized. That being said we are fighting a battle with no chance of an end in sight. The transport I volunteered for often had more puppies than fosters. This meant that they often had to turn away the less “desirable” rescues. Every dog sent on transport had to have a minimum of two series of vaccinations, have been dewormed, spayed/neutered, fostered for 2 weeks in a home with no signs of disease, and prior to transport have been assessed by a veterinarian and issued a health certificate for travel.
And despite the constant flow of animals to the north our shelters are still having to euthanize animals of all ages due to overcrowding.
You have said it well. There was an account of an elderly man bringing his beloved pet rabbit to PETA, including a little hutch, special toys, all his food. The man was devastated, but had to go into assisted living, and couldn’t take his pal with him. They promised him that they would find the rabbit a loving home, and the man left feeling a bit better. That bunny was killed before the man left the parking lot.
I am glad that there are great Agvocates out there to share the real story! You are completely right this is so staged. Which is sad because to the average person they will believe this immediately! I was raised on a beef farm and currently work in the chicken industry. Which are scrutinized regularly along with the dairy industry! Thanks for being an Agvocate!
“Agvocates” I love that!
Thanks for taking the time to speak up about the PETA/animal rights/touchy issues. You’re a great voice for the ag industry!
Thanks for standing up for our NC dairy farmers dairycarrie!!
No surprise, as PeTA is known for dishonesty in its videos. A European court found PeTA GUILTY of paying people to skin raccoon dogs ALIVE in order to make a video and then claim most fur harvesters do it this way. LIES. PeTA is more flagrant (and will continue to be until exposed, sued, and made to pay huge settlements) than the Humane Society of the U.S. (H$U$), though the latter is slicker and uses more donor dollars to peddle influence with legislators and infiltrate government agencies that deal with animals (e.g., USDA/APHIS). H$U$ did take an expensive hit though when they and a few other smaller animal rights organizations had to give Feld Entertainment $15.75 MILLION to stop further RICO (Racketeering) prosecutions in court and avoid a racketeering conviction. The A$PCA settled a few months previously for $9.3 MILLION to avoid the same. Charity Navigator, who H$U$ proudly referred to as rating them as a top “charity”, downgraded H$U$ after the settlement, and issued a donor warning about contributing to them. That’s gotta hurt!
animalandpeoplelover: “A European court found PeTA GUILTY of paying people to skin raccoon dogs ALIVE in order to make a video ”
I have researched this on the web and it looks like another smear job against PETA. I’ve found no credible source for this but plenty of rumor-mongering going on at clearly biased sites. PETA has made a lot of enemies and some of them seem to be totally unscrupulous in their tactics. If there are credible journalistic sources I’d be happy to see them but I try to avoid believing mere rumors.
I don’t particularly care for many of PETA’s activities, but I try to use the same common sense skepticism towards them as I do to any other group with an agenda. Which of course includes every human organization, including those related to farming.
DariyCarrie I think it’s highly irresponsible of you to allow people to repeat what are essentially unfounded myth. At this point the comment section of your blog is looking like the conspiracy mongering you would find on a Sandyhook truth or or 9/11 truth or website. Do you understand what a false flag conspiracy is? Are you really a Truther?
Except you don’t have any evidence of this German court case, no one does I’ve been asking for it for years
I grew up working on dairies. I live next door to a dairy. There is NO WAY cows milked without washing udders & legs would be graded for drinking milk. The bacteria count in their tanks would be sky-high. And that loafing shed sure did look deserted–does this dairy perhaps only have the two cows shown? I couldn’t help it…I left my comments on the video site.
Don’t ever trust and organization that profits from abuse. The more abuse they can “prove” the more donations roll in. Those donations in turn are used against any and every agenda they feel is important. PETA are not defenders of animals they are abolitionists biding their time and hoping to get enough political power and money to be able to buy legislation in their favor.
A prime example would be the NYC carriage horses. PETA coupled with an AR group run by one of PETA’s biggest donors and a real estate mogul threw money at the current mayor to get him elected on the platform that he would in turn ban the carriage horses. If nobody stands up and stops them and the ban in put into effect..I’ll give you one guess who is first in line to benefit from the purchase and remodel of those stable’s in prime real estate areas.
Lets also not forget that their most recent attack and video on the racing world was proven to be a farce AND their undercover agent committed to a sexual relationship with one of the trainers in order to be able to have the access to film. So what does that make PETA ..are they also pimps now ?
Your first sentence in your comment was he most TRUE statement I have ever seen. Plus, If PETA truly cared about making a difference in animal welfare, then they would try and COOPERATE with farmers/owners/ etc. by creating and posting these videos they do nothing more than cause anger and reaction (something they care more about than actually making a change).
I grew up in the heart of dairy country in NY. How do we know these cows aren’t meant for the meat truck. I have never liked PETA. It made me for not all farm’s are bad.
As a dairy farmer it’s pretty obvious that these ladies aren’t headed for a meat truck. They look pretty dang good to me!
I live on a beef farm…cows living in the littlest bit of manure seem to find it an lie down on it!! Those cows looked quite clean given the amount of manure the we’re slogging through. PLUS when all of our cows are in the barn their poop is nowhere near that runny! That looked like watered down mud not chunky cow pies!
Well I work for the department of agriculture and I can say a crust on the manure lagoon is a great thing. We on fact look for that. That crust helps keep odors down
Please, go to the YouTube video and clarify that on there. Rational comments need to be put out where John Q Public can see them!
I am glad that dairycarrie took a second look at PETA’s video and wrote about it. Some years back at an international conference I met a couple videographers who told me about some experiences their colleagues had with animal rights organizations who wanted to raise money on the theme of saving Brazil’s river dolphins. The dolphins were not in danger, but the animal rights folks hired some fishermen to catch and kill some and made videos of the event to be able to promote donations to “Save Brazil’s River Dolphins!” In other words, the video was a fake. This was in the early 1900s. Then I saw a video with a clip made in Africa where if you looked closely, you saw the use of nylon lines in what appeared to be another set up video to use as a propaganda film. These are the tactics employed by these radicals who are not even interested in the animals, but in donations and control of public perception. Disgusting!
I come from a Dairy Farm in NC and I agree at first I am shocked at what I see. But like you Carrie there is so much to see that they don’t point out. I know so many dairies that do not look like this. We had the PETA guy come around looking for a job. He posed as someone who had farmed his whole life, but he brought a resume that was just too perfect. We have lost so many dairies in NC and it makes me sad that PETA is doing this.
I would like to point out that at one point they show a lot full of manure with a small tree, or some sort of foliage, growing and say that the girls are forced to live under these conditions. There is absolutely no way anything green is going to grow in a freestall barn that cattle are housed in. No way.
Rhys that’s a definite true statement ! We stock pile our manure and after its gone NOTHING grows there…PERIOD!! We also chop inslege for a large dairy farm here in Nebraska. They also have alleys with the step and yes there is poop but I’ve also seen them hose down the alley 2 x a day then use a box scraper to remove the manure. These cattle are treated extremely well , cool in summer comfortable in winter when its -45 out..
I’m glad you took the time to really look at the video and let the rest of us know your thoughts!
My husband and I also dairy and use the free stall system. Our cows much the same as those shown would rather lounge under cover than crisp in the sun. Our feed bunks are outside from the freefall and we even have sun shades overhead for them. Our alleyways are scraped morning and night with a modified tractor tire on our skid steer directly into the pit where it stays until we hook up the pipes across the field and the sprayer.
As for hips protruding show me a fat cow and I will show you a cow that isn’t milking very hard. While not all farmers are legit and maintain questionable practice with their animals this is a very unfair and false portrait that has been painted. IMHO PETA is a master of deception.
I grew up on a dairy farm many years ago. I know that at that time my father had many rules and regulations to follow in order to maintain a Grade A dairy farm. The farm and barn were also insepected often by the government to make sure that everything was spotless. These inspections were always unannounced. That was more than thirty years ago. If and I know it was that strict 30+ years ago, i can no imagine what regulations the dairy farmers of today have to adhere to.
First thing I noticed was how clean the rest of the cow was after walking through that!!
I hate these videos that surface. I live in canada and an animal cruelty video surfaced ( it was justifiably animal cruelty) but the back lash that they created on the entire industry was insane.
My husband works on robotic millers and his boss called the people that made the video and told them he’d pay their people to come film a robotic dairy to show how humane they are and they refused,
They are only interested in trying to destroy the dairy industry… Never mind that that cows will DIE if they aren’t milked, and that they get to just eat, sleep and eat some more… Pretty rough life…
I’m sorry? Justifiable animal cruelty? What does that mean? How do you justify being cruel to an animal?
Re-read that part. The original poster is not saying being cruel to an animal is justifiable. He is saying that the video showed cruelty and no one could dispute that fact….at least that’s how it reads.
That’s how I read it too.
I think AW meant legitimate animal cruelty, not justifiable.
You should send the Associated Press your interpretation of the video and see how they respond. I lived and worked on a beef farm in Va for three years while in college and your observations are dead on. I have no objections to a vegetarian or vegan diet, there’s nothing wrong with either. Nor do I have any objections to eating venison, I prefer doe meat over a buck’s. Also I love homegrown vegetables. I only take issue with someone who is under the impression that their position, or preference, be the only righteous choice for everyone. Especially those who are the more radical side.
Hit them up and see what they say!
so true Chrissy
Thank you for this post — I’m a farm girl living in a big city where going vegan due to “mean farmers” isn’t uncommon at all. It’s videos like this that convert the uneducated who aren’t asking the right questions. Thank you for all of your posts where you explain my the farm life that was my upbringing!
No, I haven’t watched the video, and no, I’m not going to. PETA doesn’t deserve the views!
These are great observations, Carrie. Your comments made me notice a few other inconsistencies in the video:
1. At 15 seconds there is a large weed growing next to the feed rack. No honorable herbivore would have let that weed survive past six inches in height.
2. There is a great deal of bird manure on the pipe above where they are fed. In my experience, birds don’t gather or nest in high traffic areas such as a feed bunk.
3. There is no fresh splatter. Anywhere. Not in the feed bunk, not on the support beam, nowhere. When manure is that “soupy” it gets everywhere and there is no hiding from it.
4. Lastly, everything looks old and unused. You can always tell when something has gone untouched for an extended period, and this appears to be the case.
If PETA is going to stage a video in an abandoned dairy barn, I would suggest hiring some help next time.
Keep it up, the truth needs to be out there. Don’t worry, as a responsible consumer, I’m gonna continue to enjoy milk and won’t just take word from a video that I need to change my entire way of life. Thank u for doing what’s right in a world where wrong is constantly celebrated!
my uncle was in the dairy business for many years and retired with my other uncles I have an aunt is still milks cowsand I can tell you from experience going there in the summer a scam this video is a scam it’s sad that there is animals in the world hurtingbut they have to make it worse by making their selves liars
We have had situations on our farm when something has gone wrong with a manure pump or line and a big mess happens, At that moment things might look bad but we also would work a 18-20 hour day if needed to try to fix it, and a sick cow can easily look like she has been neglected when truthfully much money and time is actually being spent to try to save her. Sometimes cows do stupid things that result in some very difficult situations for farmers to deal with.
If you look at the end showing the barn it is totally empty…..where are all these cows drudging through the manure now?
I think this is crazy who would put these cows in this video PERIOD if its really that bad call the law simple fact lets just sit and praise people for making videos
The people making the video staged the event and put the cows in the bad situation. “Praise” to the people for putting healthy animals is a sewer sludge? The video makers didn’t care for the animals’ well being, they only cared about the donations they would get from an uninformed (and now misinformed) public. Peta should be sued for fraud.
This video is just a set up, why aren’t there any more cows in the pasture, they only want us to see that there are animals that have pain, and that don’t have a good life, but you don’t see any other cows laying down or eating, and there’s defenitly not enough food for or all the cow’s. So i think this is just a stupid set up video to let people see that the farmers are not taking care of their animals, sometims you have a sick cow every farmer does, or one with a injured leg that are te cows where you care about a little more just to be sure the cow will stay allive. And ofcourse all the cow’s have flies around them, but you can easly protect them from flies whit a spray or something. And about the eartags, in a couple years all the information will go trough ear tags, so none off the cows will have a neck band, but it doens’t mean a farmer don’t have to know his cows well without a neck band.
Wow thank you for sharing all that with me. My grand daughter is 17 and she constantly charges what she eats because she this type of “crap”. (No pun intended…well maybe a little)
People are so influenced by the internet and videos like this.
I wasn’t really able to get across to her that what she saw wasn’t really how things are.
She wouldn’t drink milk or eat beef because of seeing a video like this. So she went Vegan.
I just wish I could get her to watch and or read the information you put out.
Officials have spoken. No abuse, just housekeeping. https://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/update-peta-claims-abuse-at-wnc-dairy-farm-17342.shtml#.U-tEcfm4YYy
Great article. I haven’t watched the official video, I fell like I’ve seen enough of their crap to have an idea of what they were trying to show, but I loved your break down of the obvious flaws in the video. Thanks for helping to show laypeople that PETA really is just a group of liars.
PETA = Pathological Evaders of True Accounts
I am stealing this one fabulous!
A lot of dairy farms are still relatively small business in the fact that you don’t have time, or money to waste. Now if this was shot secretly I could get that maybe someone snuck into a barn and took a video, but following a cow into the parlor secretly? IF that was the cows living conditions this dude would be out of business. His somatic cell count would be fucking through the roof, there be hoof problems, etc. I’ve worked in mining and exploration drilling since leaving dairy farming behind and the waste I see is laughable. Small farms operate on a knifes edge, economically speaking, so this video seems laughable.
I am very doubtful of many of these videos. In this time of technology, you can alter the facts to fit your particular view. I am so tired of all the crying ads for one organization or another, then finding out that very little of the funds donated actually go for the care of the animals they are claiming they help. It seems that they need all the money to pay the high dollar corporate heads, not to actually aid the plight of the animals. People that alter these facts should be called to account legally, and at the very least fined for misrepresenting the facts.
Carrie, please go on like this. When I saw the first ten seconds I realized there was something wrong with this video. I work with cows every day, have worked with animals for the past 45 years and have no “like” for Peta at all. In the Netherlands there is a group similar to this, called “Wakker Dier”, they do the same thing like Peta, spread lies and untruths just to get people stop eating meat.
These groups are a pain to society in my eyes, and do nothing to better it.
And on top of all that the video shows 10-15 cows max…..there is now way that they could produce that much waste. One heck of “milk factory”
I have not or do I now live or work on a dairy farm. But THANK YOU for pointing out the lies in this video. My answer when people tell me the “horror” stories of the abuse to animals is “why would a farmer not take care of their source of income?” If the conditions were as depicted in the video would anyone buy milk from them? No! Carrie – keep reporting the truth and the truth will set us all free!
Update to story.
Now, Haywood County Animal Control officials say complaints by PETA about the farm are unfounded.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, claimed cows at a farm in Clyde were being mistreated. However, inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and Animal Control say there was no evidence to support those claims.
Local officials say there were some house cleaning issues involving the removal of waste that needed to be addressed, but they say wet weather has hampered the farmer’s ability to keep stalls and runways clear.
Also, Harris Teeter tells News 13 they will be asking PETA to issue a retraction immediately, as the distributor does not receive milk from Osborne Dairy Farm.
https://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/update-peta-claims-abuse-at-wnc-dairy-farm-17342.shtml
I looked at a Google satellite image of farm. It doesn’t look bad. Plenty of pasture.
My guess is the cows are clean because they lay in his pasture and don’t use the barn. Maybe they only go through the barn to exit the parlor.
While updates and retractions are great, it’s the first story that people hear and remember. It’s a common technique used in court, to put out objectionable information- the jurors may be told to ignore the info, but you can’t unhear something.
People Eating Tasty Animals: The village idiot of animal advocacy since 1980
Thank you for sharing this. Kudos for taking a hard look at the video and noticing the discrepencies and catching what most people would never notice. It’s actually PETA who is abusing animals here, not the farmers by making the cows walk through the muck just so they can make their point. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time PETA and other organizations have done this. Check out http://www.cafoswatchingcafowatchers.com for more examples of how PETA and other organizations like the HSUS are misleading people about farmers and what they do.
I would like to Thank Carrie for exposing the TRUTH, and add another source of truth that hasn’t really been covered well. I too, lived by a dairy, so have some experience there. Those farmers know those cows by names. The numbered tags are only for records and for others that do not deal with them daily to keep them straight. Just as hospitals or jails use a number system (account numbers). I also personally own a dairy/beef cross cow, (holstein/black angus cross). She is used for breeding so we have a steer to butcher for our own use. This cow is well fed and runs on pasture all summer. Her hips look boney all the time regardless of how much she is fed or even if she is heavy with calf (Before she gives birth) IT IS A BREED TRAIT. The only milk she gives is the milk her calf sucks from her. SHE HAS BONEY HIPS. SHE IS NOT A BEEF COW. Dairy breeds are boney and you can’t change that with any amount of feed or pampering. We don’t do plastic surgery on cows. That’s like saying a short cow breed is deformed because it doesn’t have longer legs or a cow with no horns has been abused because of their absence. (Polled cows are born with no horns.) Check up on your BREED traits.
OMG! What a crock of – well, you know! I worked at a small dairy (only milked 9 cows in a set in the parlor), and now live on a ranch where we raise beef cattle. Those are some pretty slicked up cattle!! Yes, their legs do have old manure, but their bodies are impressively spotless! Is cow #2 a little thin for my liking? Yes, even for a dairy cow. Is she “emaciated” though? Definitely not! And I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to say her “overgrown hoof” was causing her excruciating pain. Yes, she was favoring it. I’m going to guess the start of some foot rot. (Which, by the way, is something even cattle in pastures can get.)
As for the cow with the bleeding nose…that’s some awefully bright red “blood” and it seems rather fishy that being so bright it isn’t running, and hasn’t darkened and coagulated since the cow is calmly laying there chewing her cud. Also, why are the flies on the top of the nose and around the nostril instead of on the “blood” itself? And if they are housed in all that mud and filth, why is she laying on what looks to be green grass type ground instead of in a pool of gunk?
Oh, and LOVE the huge weeds where the cattle spend every night! The whole place looks abandoned! The ‘housing area’ looks nothing like the parlor itself. I would believe there was a hidden camera involved in the parlor stuff…the grainy shots in the dark (probably a morning milking?). But you usually can’t zoom in with a hidden camera on a cow’s ‘bloody’ nose, and those were much clearer, brighter pictures…totally different quality and type.
And their udders have very little dirt/mud/manure on them…dried, wet, or otherwise, which says that even though they may have the little chunks of dirt on their legs and bellies, their udders are kept clean and in good condition.
We had one time where we had a part of our pens get this soupy at the dairy. The cows and I had to walk through it twice a day. Through. Not stood in, not housed in. To get to the barn and back out to the bedded open pens at night and pasture during the day. But the udders are cleaned with warm water and iodine solution prior to being milked. So I find it odd that the commentator phrases it as “just moments before being milked” in an attempt to make it sound like that filth doesn’t get washed off prior to milking.
Every facility has “bad” times. Stuff breaks down, weather causes problems, Murphy’s law. That doesn’t mean that’s the way things always are, or even normally are. There are some bad operations out there (in the dairy world and elsewhere). I wish these idiots would go find them and do some real good instead of wasting time with this junk.
PETA People Eating Tasty Animals Enough said
Well said, I have toured many dairy farms and they have all been very clean. I even saw one where the cows came in and milked themselves in very sanitary conditions. NEVER trust PETA, they have an agenda and it is bad for America and your health.
People need to realize that Farmers, Ranchers, and Miners… are the true first line in all production in our way of life. They are the ones that make something from nothing, well dirt and rain, and mining from brute force.
Well We ran a Dairy farm for 4 Generations and I beleive PETA is a Joke these Holsteins are milked and Cared for Very well from what I see the Important thing is They do have fans and a Lean to over their Head yes the transfer alley has Shit in it thats what its for Let these PETA folks walk behind every cow and drag their Shit to the end of that Lean To every time they Shit!! They are not lying in it and apparently they are pretty content or they would’nt be laying down chewing there Cud not only that if they were Starved for Crying Out Loud they woul’nt Have Cud to Chew!!! Also if these PETA people knew anything about Holsteins they’d know every Holstein is Long,Tall& Lanky Even when they are Pregnantthey look the same Way!!! So Carry on My Dairy Milking Friends I Think your Doing A Fine Job and have All My Respect!!!
Does it change to the fact that cows are being exploited there ? I mean, having their milk pumped twice a day and being pregnant without never being able to live with your baby, to whom belongs the milk, is that a life ? I wouldn’t like it for sure ! Oh but wait, they are just cows ! Because we CAN do that to them, let’s just do it ! Why don’t we try it on tigers or lions ?
I am from Iowa we have a little herd do cattle for breeding and my Husband knows everything about them, names, numbers, how many calves they have had, how they act after having a calf, everything….they are his other children, he loves them. If something happens to one of them he does everything he can to make it better, sometimes that is not enough and we have to put them down, it is so sad how PETA tries to make us (farmers of all kinds) in to the bad guys…….I watched a show about how PETA put down dogs and it was sick, they put them in a locked dumpster and turn the water hose on. The dogs yowled until you heard silence, I cried, it was horrible,they are cruel not us
I am so glad that you are not afraid to stand up to PETA and I believe as agriculturalists it is our duty to stand up and prove their advertisement wrong. If you ask me staging a barn and making dairy cattle go threw a commercial like that is abuse on PETA’s part, not the hard working dairy farmers trying to earn a living.
PETA should really mean, “People Eating Tasty Animals.” With their track record, no thinking person would afford PETA any credence at all; but then they count on the gullible to give voice to their agenda. Now having said that, here’s the bottom line: you eat what you want and I’ll eat what I want. Bye now.
PETA the same group that campaigned for fish to be called sea kittens….That tell you that your dog shouldn’t eat meat…. and they now want us to believe this video I just dont think so. PETA should be People for the Eating of Tasty Animals
Dear Folks,
Please take a moment and go to Mr. Frank Losey’s website. He is very close to having HSUS and others investigated by Congress and he is asking for our help.
I am a life long cattleman and I am sick of the way that HSUS has incrementally attacked our livelihoods and way of life. Animal welfare is best left to those who don’t have a stated agenda to wipe out American agriculture.
Peta acts like the idiots they are, and they draw a lot of attention for their dishonest actions. HSUS lobbyists wear $2000 suits and work behind the scenes to incrementally erode our freedoms and food.
This is Frank Losey’s website below.
https://www.memoryofchaucer.com/calltoaction.htm
Thanks,
Jeff
Right on, Jeff!
If you love your pets, you’ll want to visit http://www.keepourdomesticanimals.com which has updates on the lawsuit against the USDA/HSUS to protect our right to own and breed small domestic animals. Mr. Frank Losey is a hero!!! It is a David v. Goliath lawsuit and Mr. Losey is working pro bono but the court costs are enormous and they need our help and donations.
Thank you Liz, lets get this out there to every one you can think of, Facebook, comments sections, e-mails, etc…etc… where ever you can. Frank Losey is helping us, now lets help him.
https://www.memoryofchaucer.com/calltoaction.htm
http://www.humanewatch.org
It’s a dumb article trying to justify inhumane factory farming conditions with tiny, insignificant points to try to counter what PETA is revealing to the public. Those animals are living in close proximity with a massive amount of manure – the fumes from that has awful effects on the health of the animal. These animals never get to leave their tiny, filthy pens to roam and graze as they would naturally do so.
All of these minor bits that are pointed out, is that supposed to assure us that these animals are being treated humanely? It’s humane now because the cows don’t have manure on their bodies, it’s okay because the manure is a few feet away, not touching them? Nevermind the stench and the fumes infecting their respiratory tract. Nevermind the noisy, cramped conditions with cold, hard floors and no protection from the elements.
I have worked at an industrial chicken egg farm, it is awful. I didn’t want to work there, but I desperately needed an income and the job was easily available to me. I liked the people, they were not by nature cruel, they were always friendly and optimistic. I think they were just completely desensitized having been raised around farming their entire lives. The farm met all criteria laid out by whatever ridiculous organization says it’s okay to farm animals this way. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just 28,000 chickens per barn, housed in small cages with 5-6 chickens per cage, cages lined up and down the rows. The birds were constantly urinating and defecating on one another until their feathers were stained and falling out from skin infections. Barely enough room to move around, one chicken is always touching another at any given time, unless most of their cage mates had died. Some died of illness or stress, others died from accidental strangulation on the cage bars. It was incredibly difficult at times to sort out the dead, your eyes begin to zone out here and there as you walk up and down the rows seeing the same thing over and over, thousands of chickens clucking, dust getting in your eyes, the stench strangling your breath from time to time. Often you might find the dead by smell after a few days, but sometimes you might randomly come across one that had clearly been there for a month or two, it almost looked like a fossil by that time. Disgusting, horrid living conditions for the live birds, but nothing out of the ordinary, nor deemed unacceptable by any organization with power. Not only their living conditions, there are also the conditions which occur when the birds are removed once their egg production declines. When my barn was emptied, I found two severed heads from chickens being removed so forcefully from their cages, the door had snapped shut on them and the head was sliced right off. Blood everywhere. Absolutely unthinkable, and yet there is no denying that this is what happens on a regular basis. I’m sure that many of those who survived being ripped from the cages ended up with broken limbs.
I don’t care if it meets current standards. There are so many things that meet standards in farming, food production, pet and animal care, etc. that are extremely questionable. That doesn’t necessarily make it humane to the people or the animals in question. If PETA’s actions raise a lot of attention, then there is clearly something that people find appalling about farm conditions when they are shown the truth. Maybe, just maybe, there is a real reason that things need to change quickly. Not everybody is compassionate, but those who are can see that today’s industrial farming practices are not acceptable. It is NOT okay for these animals to be raised in such filthy, cramped, stressful conditions for the duration of their short lives. If we can’t feed our population without these industrial methods (I’m sure we could find another way anyways), then we ought to find a better means to sustain ourselves and think about other edibles as well.
Honestly, it’s not a big deal if animal farming becomes a thing of the past. It’s better for our health, for our mental well-being as humans and even for our environment. A healthy, fulfilling diet can easily be achieved with plant-based foods. At one point I never thought it would be possible as I was raised eating meat daily with most meals. But I tried it plant-based foods, and there are so many hearty and delicious foods that don’t require great fatty chunks of animal flesh to be enjoyed. There is so much to choose from, herbs that can be grown in your window sill to liven up every meal, spices for flavor, and the list goes on. I do not see why it is so impossible for some people to show a little mercy for other living being by just cutting down on how much they stuff their faces with animal body parts! It’s kinda gross when you think about it!
I think AP needs this story. Anyone with farming experience would know this was a fake. Who checks the AP stories for authenticity?
Thank you for this article, I’ve to admit I’ve never knew this stuff before, so I’ve learned quite a bit about cows in this post! 🙂
When you have an organization like PETA that “theoretically” cares more about animals than mankind, that tells you something about their true nature.
It’s not that they care, they actually don’t, it’s just another agenda like global warming, which has, at its core doctrine, the basic goal of eradicating mankind’s Biblical dominion over animals (I’m not talking abuse here, just in case), for whatever reason (usually for radical, illegal purposes) and they know it, at least the “top” heads do, the rest of their employees or volunteers helping them are just “useful tools”.
Years of brainwashing in public schools have led to this mess we have now.
Read Romans 1:25
Blessings
I remember once upon a time when I was in college (probably about 12-14 years ago) PETA had a video of a Holstein cow having a standing c-section performed as a part of one of their video montages with no context whatsoever. All unknowing viewers knew was that a conscious cow was being cut open. I used to teach high school agriculture in a suburban area and would always dissect the videos on their website with my students (very few of which grew up on a farm). Sure wish I had this website when I was teaching! We must never forget their goal is to end animal agriculture…
But what about the pigs being tortured? I am confused now I don’t know what to think those videos PETA post are just horrible, Now they say is a lie I am confused can someone tell me plz
Nadia, you can first ask questions, just as you are doing now. PeTA, Mercy for Animals, are the most vociferous in their “undercover” video attacks on animal agriculture, and they are both strictly vegan organizations whose goal is to end all interactions between humans and animals. To paraphrase Ingrid Newkirk, the misanthropic leader (dictator actually, much like a cult) of PETA says animals are to be “enjoyed at a distance”. They call it Total Animal Liberation. It’s a nice thought, but if you carry that forward, you will realize how unnatural that view is, and how much very real death and suffering would result from the elimination of domestic animals. Domestication does not equal abuse. Liberation is not freedom, and in the end, freedom is a human concept that can’t be applied to animals, as they have no accompanying responsibilities – but humans certainly do.
When you have such questions, go to real experts, groups and people who actually PARTICIPATE in the activity you are interested in learning about, and take outside criticism with more than a few grains of salt.
as for concerns about pigs, try Minnesota Farm Living https://www.mnfarmliving.com/2013/12/animal-cruelty-price-pay-cheap-meat.html Wanda is a family hog farmer, and her blog often has a lively debate, she doesn’t censor people or refuse to allow them to post comments in opposition of hog farming. Go back and read past posts from Dairy Carrie’s blog. Be skeptical, ask questions, and as for the pig “torture”, starting with real experts in animal husbandry would be good. Every farmer I know, and have ever known in my own family history, are kind people who hate cruelty, have no earthly reason to abuse or mistreat their animals. Farmers care about their animals, and even if they don’t treat them like pets, they give them the best possible care – farmers are human beings who love animals, otherwise why would they chose to work and live with them every day? And abuse, cruelty and neglect hurts profits, and farmers need to make a living just like you and me.
You just got a new subscriber with this article.
This blog is incredibly powerful and life-changing. I have just posted it on the facebook page that I admin: https://www.facebook.com/peoplefortheethicaltreatmentofeverybody
I have never liked PETA. They’re hypocrites. But, I simply never had any reason to doubt their “undercover” videos. I’ve been around animals a lot, but not livestock. Again, I never liked PETA, but a big reason for me to continue being vegetarian (I was raised vegetarian) was because of PETA’s videos.
I care a lot about animals, and I’m very sensitive, but I’m also very skeptical. I’m always trying to learn more about animal welfare.
But the biggest voices on this issue are organizations like PETA. So…what is someone like me supposed to do? There’s really no clear non-propaganda information out there.
Until I found this blog, anyway.
This is amazing in many ways:
First of all, I am so relieved that PETA’s undercover dairy video was faked. I am relieved that dairy cows are NOT systemically abused like PETA claims.
Second, I’m pissed that PETA is lying to people and staging these videos. I feel taken advantage of. My whole life, I thought that livestock animals were terrorized and tortured their whole lives. This is because of PETA and similar organizations (and that Earthlings documentary, and some others).
Third, I am now extremely curious to learn the truth about ALL animal agriculture, not just dairy.
I want to fact-check everything I’ve believed to be true about animal products. Beef, veal, leather, pork, wool, mutton/lamb, down (feathers for stuffing), chicken, eggs, fur, cosmetics, animal testing.
Do you have any resources I can look at to find out more about these, and do you have any personal thoughts about the state of animal welfare in these areas?
Perhaps you personally can educate me a little bit about veal? I know you mentioned it briefly and gave a couple links, but I want to know more specifics. I want to know how they’re raised (because I saw videos where the calf is forced to stand up in a dark room and can’t ever lie down, supposedly to tone their muscles and make them taste better, I want to know if that was faked or if that’s common practice). Also, you had a link to pasture-raised veal, but this is a minority type of farm, isn’t it? Most veal in the grocery store is not pasture-raised, is it? I want to know the most common ways veal ends up in grocery stores.
I think I may still find fur, chicken, egg, and pork farming to be inhumane/unethical…and perhaps some parts of leather production…(just speaking overall, for the stuff that ends up in grocery stores, because I have always thought that most small-scale farm operations are humane, and always assumed BIG farms are worse.), but again, I am eager for more information. Do you think big companies like Tyson and Stonyfield treat their animals just as well as you do?
Sorry I have a lot of questions. I am very interested by this and your blog has just been mind-blowing to me.
Why didnt you cover the overgrown feet or bloody nose? Also how is the whole thing staged? PETA created the muddy barn? Its a real farm… if it weren’t they wouldn’t have been cited for multiple environmental problems as even stated in the so called reliable Mountaineer.
“Environmental regulators came down harder on the farm, issuing six notices of violation, most of which involved the way animal waste was handled.”
Which is exactly the problem the video demonstrates..
Julia, one cow out of 30 had a bad foot. Do you know why it was bad? Do you know what caused her injury? You don’t and neither do I. The same goes for the cow with a bloody nose. If you grab a random group of 30 people I’ll bet that one or two will have some sort of injury themselves.
The barn was full of manure because the farmer was using it for overflow storage because he had been unable to spread manure. However the cows weren’t living in the barn. The farmer was pasturing these cows and they only reason they were in the barn was for the filming of this video.
https://themountaineer.villagesoup.com/p/peta-video-relied-on-fear-mongering-tactics/1227080
I am going to start a new group called PETA and will stand for: PEOPLE EDUCATING others TRUTHFULLY about ANIMALS! Maybe then we can get a straight answer.
Hi, it’s me again, I commented earlier, but I came back just now because I wanted to reassure you of something.
I realize that I linked to a facebook page that I admin, and it’s called “people for the ethical treatment of everybody” which sounds suspicious, like I named it after PETA, and ergo is maybe affiliated with PETA.
Honestly I just picked that name because it’s catchy. If you want proof that I really don’t like PETA, if you just scroll down to the first few posts, you’ll see that I wrote some disclaimers saying that I do not like PETA as an organization and the page isn’t affiliated with them at all.
Also, I posted your blog there in a positive light, you may see in the latest post.
I just wanted to reassure you of that.
Also I’ve done some more research on other parts of animal farming, and while I can say I think pig and chicken farming has a lot of room for improvement (just my opinion honestly), it’s definitely not as bad as I once believed it was. I am still trying to learn more though. I still haven’t found much info on veal farming. But, even if I find out that veal farming is inhumane, I won’t let that color my perception of all farmers or all farm practices. I can see now that they’re not all the same and you can’t just blanket everything. I just want to know the truth.
I am really irritated that these documentaries like “Food Inc” and “Earthlings” and videos from PETA made me believe things which aren’t true. I want to know the truth. Shame on them for showing us horrible (and sometimes not-so-horrible/staged) images and telling us that the ONLY way to fix it is to “go vegan”. Not only that, but for me personally, I care about animals a lot, so I’ve been suffering from a lot of anger and depression towards FARMERS and AGRICULTURE because of this stuff I’ve seen.
And now I’m finding out there was no reason for me to feel that way. I was wrong and misinformed. I’m glad, and relieved to be free of this anger, and glad I was wrong about what I believed, but now I’m mad at these documentaries. It’s not ok to manipulate people like this. I would love to go into filmmaking or something and make a documentary about how farming REALLY is. It might not be as exciting as the false propaganda documentaries but at least it will be out there for people to see. I would love to do something like that one day.
Sorry I type so much. I’m just passionate about this, always have been. I’m really glad I found your blog.
If you are looking for info on veal farming, I would suggest you join the Food and Farming Discussion Lab on FB. There are quite a few farmers in that group and if they can’t answer you question, they can direct you to someone that can.
I found this in my quick check, it is from the Veal producers
https://www.vealfarm.com/housing.aspx
I love animals, and I like meat. I made myself watch Temple Grandin’s videos on the slaughter of cattle, hogs and turkeys. It is graphic, but I felt a lot better about my pork chop or burger after seeing it. I saw animals treated well and killed quickly. That is better than any animal in the wild can hope for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMqYYXswono
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsEbvwMipJI
Maybe I don’t know enough about cows, but those animals in the pictures don’t appear to have a big enough udder to be milked. Why would they run a heifer thru the milking parlour?
I trust PETA like I trust Hammas. Lots of possibilities here.
It is possible that this farmer is in a flood area and had too many cows to put them all in the dry barns temporarily til flooding drained.
PETA put out a story not too long ago in which a person who thought they were helping a horse, shook an apple trees’ apples into the field where the horse was pastured. Too many apples could easily kill that horse.
Check out how many animals are euthanized at PETA ‘s shelters.
I am glad the writer took the time to watch the video closely and scrutinize it. I have worked with exotic animals for 15 years and have seen numerous videos that have been edited and sound added to meet the needs of the animal rights agenda. Unfortunately most people do not take the time to find out the truth and take these videos for fact.
Oh thank you so much PETA for your insightful looking into the terrible abuse happening in the dairy industry (says with thick sarcasm and rolling my eyes). As someone born and raised on a dairy; I like you noticed the same things. My honest opinion is that they used a closed or shut down dairy farm to shoot this footage. I only seen a handful of cows at all in their video; cows are herd animals and to see only a handful on a dairy would tell me that this was not a dairy trying to make money. Also if you look at the free stalls they do not seem to be used, I don’t know how to explain it, but if you ever come across closed farms you can recognize “that look”. Lastly, they show the few cows eating a small pile of grain; if you’ve ever feed cows while milking or in an open area, they are messy eaters, the tend to push it all over the place. Those were awful tiny piles also, looked like they threw a little grain on the ground to get the cows to come over to eat long enough to get the shot. But that’s my honest opinion and I may not know much about cows at all, but consider my dad starting milking at 16 and just retired at 56 and I was right beside him with the exception of my college years, it just feels off about that facility. I say they found an abandoned dairy grabbed a few cows from the sales and made themselves a little video.
I was born on a dairy farm . Now 65. There was us three sisters me & my 2 sisters.. we milked around 200 head. & we were known as the three spotless young girls 14. 16. 18. Yrs old .. Dairy farmers. Our dad own the farm. We scald … White washed . Disaffected . Abasoultly spotless inside & out. Yards & all. We were very fussy. But then? When it rained . Yes muddie feet. Muddie udders. We would give each cow a quick hose than another in the bail. Then hose off cement Under. each cow. Every think was spotless fine. Top quotes. Now ? ?? These videos . Come on… These pictures tell the story. (((If they were in slouch. Etc… How come some cows are clean & some made dirty.. Yes If this as happened to this farmer. Yes! Slandering.. ((( leave the farmers alone..they do 150 % .. Without them where would ya be??????????Poor Farmer……. Love ya farmers keep up the good work….!!!!
This was a staged video by a disgruntled employee. The cows were sent through an unused barn with manure and then sent to the parlor for the sole purpose of making the video. That is why the cows only have manure up to about 1 ft on the legs. If the cows lived in this environment they would be covered.
It is horrible that PETA hurts the innocent and spreads lies to promote their agenda. They are the worst kind of cult.
You go girl!!! I grew up having a family milk cow. I have one of my own-my milking area is cleaner than my house. I know how careful dairy farmers are to ensure the quality of their milk. My Grandaddy used to say something about sucking hind teat when something was not going well. Seems like PETA is sucking hind teat on this one!! I was the “victim” of PETA-I was accused of painting sheep for the entertainment of the public. In reality I had sprayed a couple of nicks from shearing so the ewes would develope fly strike. It went nowhere-the powers that be (local sheriff’s department, USDA rep, local animal control and a DMV) supported me.
I hope you are able to contact ap and let them know the misinformation given in Peta’s video. Thank you for what you do to help protect American farmers.
Dairy farmers are like Ranchers. We aren’t going to hurt our animals or our range because it is our livelihood. If it gets to dirty on a dairy farm, the bacteria count goes up and then you have to dump the milk, not sell it!
Look at the video at 1.27.. yep, deep manure… Undisturbed by a single cow hoofprint! The a shot of three cows looking very confused standing in the deep manure, clearly being held there by whoever is filming them.. Looks pretty staged to me – someone ran some cows into an unused (looking very elderly) barn..
Ok in all truth I worked on a big operation and coming from a farm of maybe 150 in milk this was ten times as big as what I was used to . Before I left they had over 3500 going trough a 40×40 rapid exit parlor and a smaller parlor it maybe 600 young stock in milk and cows that couldn’t go through the big parlor . I have seen before times of the scrapers cleaning the barns and having to stop mid way to let a group go through to their alley . What the photos show as said in the article of clean udders and also clean belles that they have a clean free stall to bed in and also from my prior experience of being on a big operation that they are well taken care of. In all honesty peta has twisted things around bad. I may not have agreed with some of the things done at the operation I worked for but I had to look at things from a different view than what I was used to . Also I had to laugh about the slurrie pits . There was two big ones one that was to the big parlor and one that had 3 different barns . There was times that they couldn’t be emptied right away due to weather or problems with the roads and it would be full to the point of almost over flow. But for the people who don’t understand what dairy people do do not judge before you fully take a look at how things are not only handled but how things are ran. I won’t fully go into detail about a lot that was wrong there but I will stand up for most of the dairy farms in saying they do take well care of their own animals .
I’ve been around cattle all my life, but not dairies. If these cows were trudging in the wet mud/manure every day wouldn’t they have foot rot in about a week. If so, this dairy wouldn’t stay in business long. Also the cows laying down look fat! Unhealthy cattle are seldom fat. PETA folks need to get a real job.
Carrie, seeing as PETA is bigger than you are and likely has much deeper pockets, I’d update this article to remove any claims about PETA that are not central to the point you are making about the cows. For instance: “PETA isn’t exactly known to be …. for that matter,” isn’t something that really needs to be in your blog. Stick to the FACTS and you will be safe from PETA lawyers.
Exactly why I don’t buy into the whole Blackfish / Sea World thing. PETA and ALF will do whatever it takes to get donations including terrorism.
https://www.animalpeoplenews.org/97/4/tsg.alfbombs4.97.htm
I suggest people find out as best they can the real truth about these organizations.
https://www.facebook.com/PETAKillsAnimals
This post is a complete farce believed only by those not familiar with milk cows. These old girls are sleek, shinny coats, well fed and being driven through a manure disposal system for the purpose of inciting the ignorants among us.
FYI, the farm in question was cited by North Carolina State officials, and the owner shut it down and sold the cattle..
https://investigations.peta.org/north-carolina-dairy-farm/farm-shuts-down/
Yes I am aware that they were cited for manure handling issues. They were not cited for any animal abuse issues. It’s horrible that he was forced to sell his cows because PETA made false accusations against him.
I don’t know if you have covered this already or not (I have been avoiding the internet recently), but all the cows on this farm went to slaughter. More innocent victims killed by PETA.
After watching the video with my husband we also noticed another discrepancy in the video. The part where they show the barn with stalls and it’s all full of manure. There is a few stalks of greenery by the waterer. If cows lived in that barn then there is no way there would be anything green in there and they must have not been in there for awhile because of how tall the stalks have gotten. Thanks for sticking up for us dairy farmers.
I visited a dairy farm in Georgia recently and expected not to like what I found. The cows were kept in sheds and milked twice a day on a rotary milking machine. It was VERY clean and most importantly the cows were very contented and eagerly went to be milked and returned to clean stalls. There were large fans to keep them cool and they were in the shade. If they had been in a field they would not have been so comfortable. The milk came straight from the cows, through the cooling system and into tankers that took it away as soon as they were full. I came away satisfied that the animals were happy and comfortable and the hygiene was up to scratch.
Hello, Dairy Carrie;
Thanks for a well thought out response to yet another PETA “POS”. It seems to be cow s*** this time around. As a dog breeder/trainer/exhibitor, a milk-drinker, cheese-eater, and an omnivore, oh, and as a rational, thinking person, PETA always offends and disgusts me. I groan every time something ‘new’ comes out of their collective mouths – it is rarely anything close to being truthful. I am also amazed at how many people seem to believe their lies and misdirections…
Anyway, thanks!
I think we should all get together and makes a video that Really shows what we are all about and put it on sixty minutes and let the people know what we are all about the average could not do what a dairy farmer does
PETA’s never made an honest video in their entire existence. Remember the one with the angora rabbit with hair ripped out? Google angora farmers and you’ll find no one does it this way, they clip the hair off. Anyone ever tried waxing? If you rip the hair out, it eventually stops growing back-they’d be putting themselves out of business! PETA’s meme trying to convince gullible people that shearing sheep takes the SKIN off them? How about PETA being convicted of paying a videographer $180K to go to a third world country and pay someone to skin an animal alive so they could film it and call it ‘fur industry cruelty’? The only LEGAL way to dispatch fur farm animal is to lower then into a box of carbon monoxide or dioxide. https://topcatsroar.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/animal-welfare-v-animal-rights-skinned-alive-is-a-myth/ How about according to their OWN records PETA euthanizes over 90% of the animals they ‘rescue’ within 24 hours and only adopt out 1%. This is in line with their mission statement-no human-animal interaction whatsoever. No fur or leather, no meat or milk, no zoos, aquariums or PETS. PETA believes that pets are slaves, slavery is abuse, and animal are better off dead. http://www.petakillsanimals.com
I love that PETA is accusing you of defamation…when clearly this video could very easily be considered defamation.
defamation! What is PETA doing to this dairy farm? defamation, maybe the dairy farmer should sue them.
PETA of course tries to show the worst of everything. I grew up on a dairy farm and having a dirty dairy farm grows bacteria and makes cows sick. Something a dairy farmer never wants.
I had to share this. I know PETA can spin a yarn far away from reality and I think people need to know the real story. Great post!
Good for you for not removing the article! It’s a shame that such a large organisation will use such misleading tactics to fight their cause. It’s an even bigger shame they threaten people who point out the facts.
The irony of PETA claiming defamation…
I’m all for animal welfare, and think we have a long way to go yet, but these are most certainly not the people who we want leading the charge.
Well done and keep up the great work, here and on your farm with your no doubt very healthy, happy herd.
May I simply proofread you and point out you forgotten the Treatment part of PETA in the first paragraph. Also, nevertheless is one word.
Grammar snob aside, I hadn’t seen this video, but I enjoyed the article and if/when I do run across it, I will be sure to link you to help set the record straight with anyone else viewing or commenting on it.
I wonder why you dont quote the state inspector despite a promise at the end to follow up.
Did anyone bother to check back in? A quick online search reveals some interesting information Dairy Carrie failed to mention at any point. The video released by PETA prompted an emergency inspection the very next day by the Division of Water Resources who upon arriving found, “Animal waste…4 inches to 3 feet deep on the concrete pad in the free-stall area,” additionally “it was observed that waste in the dry stack storage area was overflowing into the free-stall barn; waste in the free-stall barn was not being scraped, collected, stored and applied at agronomic rates; and manure was being stockpiled in several areas in and around the free-stall barn.”1
Osborne had been previously cited for excess manure issues in 2012 and 2013 as well.
The end of the letter concludes that the farm has ten days to correct the six instances of violation, and the “office is considering a recommendation for a civil penalty assessment to the Director of the Division and/or injunctive relief.”
Local news outlets reported that, “Criticism of the video broke out online, with some questioning its validity and postulating that some of the abysmal conditions shown on-camera were framed. But Gna Wyatt, a former milker for Osborne Farms who contacted PETA about the conditions this summer, maintained that ‘It was really like that. It is really like that.’”2
So why didn’t Wyatt report her concerns directly to management where they could be promptly addressed instead of running to PETA? Well, she did, several times. But no one listened, “Honestly, I just thought someone would come in and say, ‘this has to be cleaned up and we would be cleaning it up and we would go about our day, I had no idea it would spiral into everything. I wanted somebody to see what I saw.” After a having her concerns dismissed or ignored several times Gna decided to take action and rang up PETA.
You are simply promoting anomaly hunting and poor critical thinking. You dont even push back against blatant conspiracy theories like, “If PETA is going to stage a video in an abandoned dairy barn, I would suggest hiring some help next time.” This was an actual farm, you can look it up. in fact they got over $100,000 in govt subsidy yet still couldnt do their job. Stop defending bad apples.
Well it’s 2022. I learned of your blog today. I looked at these pictures. Without your comments it is easy to see something is awry. The cows are clean, well fed, their udders are clean, their butts are clean, their sides are clean……. The barn area is empty and looks more like a “gather” area prior to milking. The cows appear to be standing in mud not cow crap. Cows are not like horses. They do NOT sleep standing up like a horse. They lay down. No mud or shit on their sides means that they don’t live there. Love all your blogs. Will be a faithful follower.