WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Frightened, hungry calves discovered at the Lebanon Valley Livestock Auction in Pennsylvania among the remains of deceased animals were deemed on Tuesday to be merely on a “strict diet” and not the victims of cruelty. In response to that announcement by the Humane Society of Lebanon County, Gene Baur, President and Co-founder of Farm Sanctuary (farmsanctuary.org), the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, issues the following statement:
“Liz Stefanik was driving by the Lebanon Valley Livestock Auction when she saw a sign near the road that read: ‘Dead Animal Removal.’ She felt that something was wrong and investigated. A skull and the lifeless bodies of several animals confirmed her suspicions. Upon further investigation, she found 13 calves confined without food or water in a pen at the back of the auction complex.
“After investigating the property, Kevin Gonzalez, lead police officer at the Lebanon County Humane Society, however, stated that ‘everything fell under standard agricultural practices for the state of Pennsylvania,’ and therefore no cruelty charges will be filed. They were just ‘on a strict diet,’ says Officer Gonzalez of the calves.
“Cruelty is the norm in today’s livestock industry, where farm animals are treated like commodities instead of living, feeling creatures. It is common for male dairy calves to be taken from their mothers immediately at birth, and deprived of the vital nutrients and comfort only their mothers can provide. Some of the calves are used for veal production, where they are confined in crates so small they cannot walk, turn around or engage in basic natural behaviors for the duration of their short, miserable lives. Throughout our 25 year history as an organization, Farm Sanctuary has come to the aid of calves who were neglected and treated like trash at stockyards time and again. We rehabilitate them, give them names and allow them to live out their lives free from fear and suffering at our sanctuaries in New York and California.
“Citizens are appalled when they find out about the inhumane conditions and intolerable suffering animals are subjected to at stockyards and on today’s modern industrial farms. They are shocked to learn that farm animals are excluded from the federal Animal Welfare Act and from many state anti-cruelty laws, and when they’ve had the opportunity to vote on initiatives that would prohibit some of the industry’s worst abuses, they have overwhelmingly supported these measures.
“This incident reminds us that laws need to be changed to more accurately reflect societal values and to prevent the egregious suffering of animals exploited by the food industry. Like all animals, farm animals have feelings, and they deserve to be treated with respect.”
People who are interested in taking action for farm animals are invited to visit farmsanctuary.org and sign up for their Advocacy Campaign Team.
Follow Farm Sanctuary on Twitter: twitter.com/FarmSanctuary
