PERU, N.Y. -
The images captured by a PETA hidden camera at a Peru, New York dairy farm are graphic and gruesome.
In the video, cows are being stabbed, dragged and electrocuted in the face.
"It was painful, it was miserable; it was suffering for cows and calves," says Dan Paden with the animal rights group PETA.
He helped with the effort that he says uncovered a horrific case of animal abuse.
He says the most common abuse involved how workers removed the horns from calves, a common practice called d-horning.
"They use a hot iron to burn that tissue off. They give them no anesthesia before or pain medication after. It's extremely painful for the young cow," says Paden.
Paden says the farm repeatedly inseminates the heifers causing immense pressure in the uterus.
"It weakens their muscles and when they are pregnant, there is so much pressure that it literally causes their insides to fall out," says Paden.
He says some cows with bloody vaginal prolapses that became covered with pus and manure were left to suffer, untreated, for almost three months. A manager told PETA's investigator that the farm did nothing for cows in this condition.
The farm is part of Adirondack Farm LLC, which distributes milk to Agri-Mark, Inc. based in Massachusetts. That company makes Cabbot and McAdam cheeses. Last year, the company made $900 million in profit.
"Cabbot is really the flagship brand for Agri-Mark. Many inside and outside Vermont see them as being committed to animal welfare, but that's not the case" says Paden.
I reached out to Agri-Mark CEO Richard Stammer. Spokesperson for the company Doug DiMento called back and told me, "The company doesn't condone any instances of animal abuse… Animal care is a very high priority."
Paden says they notified farm owners about how managers and employees were treating the cows and urged them to take action.
PETA presented their findings to law enforcement. TheClinton County Sheriff's Department is now investigating.
