A video that appears to show pigs being abused at an Oklahoma hog farm has prompted investigations by its owners and the Hormel Food Co., which it supplies. Hormel, makers of Spam, bacon, chili and other products, is looking into the Oklahoma facility, which is owned by The Maschhoffs LLC, large a hog production company…
Dated duck farm video gets state police scrutiny
Update: A PETA spokesperson says the video mentioned in this story was not as dated as it may seem. She says the footage was recorded between January 15 and March 30, 2016 and was submitted to officials 60 days later on June 1.
It’s being left to the Indiana State Police to determine if a …
Tyson, McDonald’s Cut Ties With TN Chicken Farm After Video Showing Abuse
Two major food corporations with well-known brands to protect have cut ties with a Tennessee chicken farm that finds itself the latest target of an animal abuse investigation by Los Angeles-based Mercy for Animals. First Tyson Foods Inc., which contracted with the Tennessee farm to raise chickens, and then McDonald’s, which is supplied with chicken…
MN Hog Farm Suspends Workers Before Group Releases Undercover Video
When an animal agriculture facility is caught with workers abusing their charges, the usual routine is to wait until the undercover video is made public and then, maybe after a day or two, fire the offending employees. Last Friday, however, Sleepy Eye, MN-based Christensen Farms was the first to act when it announced the suspension…
Hotline Launched for Reporting Cruelty, Neglect of Farm Animals
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has launched a hotline that offers a reward for whistleblowers who report cruelty and neglect on factory farms, at livestock auctions, and in slaughter houses. 
The organization is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who have committed acts of…
Meat Recalls + Slaughter Plant Shutdowns = Supplier for the National School Lunch Program?
When you think about the food being served in school cafeterias nationwide, do the words meat recall, animal abuse, unsanitary conditions and slaughter plant shutdowns come to mind? Perhaps they should. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture temporarily shut the doors of Central Valley Meat (CVM), a dairy cow slaughter plant in…
Letter From the Editor: A Modest Proposal to Wipe Out Farm Animal Abuse
I’ve acknowledged here before that I grew up in a small Midwestern town. It was even larger than most small towns, but I still went to school with more farm kids than city kids. I’ve also admitted here before that the longest two weeks of my life were spent helping a friend milk 60 cows…
Slaughter Plant Closes After HSUS Video Prompts USDA Inspectors to Leave
A New Jersey company involved in the veal and lamb business for more than 65 years was forced to shut down last Friday when USDA inspectors left the building because of alleged inhumane practices going on inside. At least two egregious violations of federal humane handling requirements documented on a video obtained by the Humane…
Animal Ag’s 2014 Legislative Strategy: Require Quick Abuse Reporting
If early bill filings are any indication, animal agriculture is going to go for cruelty laws with short reporting deadlines. Late last year, New Hampshire House Bill 110 was amended to give anyone who witnesses another person performing acts of cruelty to livestock exactly 48 hours to report it to local law enforcement. 
As it’s…
Undercover Videographer Charged With Animal Cruelty for Reporting Delay
A contractor working undercover for the non-governmental organization known as Compassion Over Killing is now being charged with animal cruelty in Colorado. Weld County Sheriff John B. Cooke said videographer Taylor Radig is charged with one Class 1 misdemeanor count of animal cruelty “due to her believed participation in the cattle abuse incidents” and alleged…