Shocking footage shows horrendous cruelty including cows being kicked and punched while calves are being slapped at a Yorkshire farm.
The distressing revelations come from an undercover investigation at an Arla dairy farm – one of the UK’s biggest milk producers. As our colleagues at The Mirror report, the farmer, seen in the footage, has been suspended for the ‘completely unacceptable’.
The video comes from an undercover worker for the Animal Justice Project at the farm which has over 2,000 cows. Arla supplies milk to a number of major retailers including Aldi, Asda, and Starbucks.
Many will be distressed to see the portrayed cruelty to cows and calves, unsanitary conditions, and a lack of enforcement, raising urgent concerns about animal welfare standards. A formal complaint has been filed to Trading Standards with their findings which they described as ‘illegal and immoral’ animal abuse.
Claire Palmer, Director of Animal Justice Project, said: “Farms like this are governed by industry-run assurance schemes that fail to protect animals. We demand legal action and corporate accountability from supermarkets and brands that profit from this suffering.”
During the investigation, at the farm in Yorkshire, cows were seen being kicked, punched, and struck with pipes and electric goads, including immediately after giving birth – as the footage shows. Lame cows were forced onto transport trucks, violating UK transport laws, while sheds housed nearly double the intended number of animals, leaving them standing in filth, say the Animal Justice Project. Workers were also filmed seemingly whipping cows with hoses.
Former UK Government’s deputy chief veterinary officer, Alick Simmons, who viewed the footage, said: “On a large dairy farm such as this, there will be events where the routine handling and movement of cows will be challenging. But there is little that could be said in mitigation of the events shown in this video. The repeated and unconstrained use of sticks and electric goads is gratuitous and excessive. This is particularly notable during the loading of cows onto a cattle transporter. On a number of occasions, offences against the Animal Welfare Act 20061 appear to have been committed.”
The Animal Justice Project is insistent that the big business listed above cut ties with the Yorkshire farm. A Red Tractor spokesperson said: “We take animal welfare extremely seriously. Within eight hours of Red Tractor receiving this footage from the Daily Mirror an independent assessor was on the farm to investigate this unacceptable behaviour by farm workers.
“This inspection confirmed all individuals identified as mistreating animals no longer work on the farm. To ensure the future welfare of animals, Red Tractor will require all those still working on the farm to complete additional training. Depending on the outcome of further investigation, the farm may also face other sanctions.”
A spokesperson for Arla said: “Animal welfare is of the utmost importance and we take a zero-tolerance approach. We take any matters relating to this extremely seriously. The actions that are shown in this footage are completely unacceptable and do not meet the high standards that we expect from our farmers. The individuals in the video are no longer employed at the farm, however, Arla has taken the decision to suspend the farmer while we investigate this further. While the investigation is still ongoing, we have already put a number of measures in place alongside independent auditors and external standards organisations.”
Starbucks said it was committed to the highest animal welfare standards, while Aldi said: “We take matters like this extremely seriously.” A spokesman added: ”We welcome the prompt actions taken at this farm to restore the high standards that our customers expect.
“We will remain in contact with the supplier and Red Tractor to monitor the ongoing steps being taken in response to these allegations.”
Asda said: “We welcome the quick response, investigation, and actions taken by Arla and Red Tractor to ensure the future welfare of animals on this farm.”
