Group Levels Abuse Allegations Against NM Dairy - Dairy Fires Workers & Shuts Down

The New Mexico Livestock Board has launched an investigation into a southern New Mexico dairy after an activist working with an animal welfare group recorded secret video showing workers whipping cows with chains and wire cables, kicking and punching the animals, and shocking them with electric prods. Board officials confirmed the investigation into the practices at the Winchester Dairy near Dexter on Tuesday. They were working on interviewing the activist and tracking down the workers identified in the video. "We are investigating it very aggressively. The district attorney is on board and everybody is working hard to make sure we do this right," said Shawn Davis, an area supervisor with the livestock board. Dairy officials have been cooperating since investigators first arrived last Friday, board officials said. The dairy said in a statement that animal care and well-being are central to its operation. As a result, the dairy fired all employees and referred the abusive workers to law enforcement for further review following its own internal investigation. The dairy also halted milking operations, stopped shipments to all vendors and dispersed thousands of cows to other dairies with strong track records in animal welfare. "We remain committed to the ethical and responsible treatment of the animals and have learned from this incident," the dairy said. It was not immediately clear whether the dairy's closure was temporary. Winchester is one of more than 140 family-owned dairies in New Mexico, a state that ranks in the top 10 nationally when it comes to milk production. The industry employs about 4,200 workers and has a direct economic impact of about $1 billion. The Los Angeles-based animal welfare group Mercy for Animals first sent the video footage to the livestock agency last Thursday. It released a compilation of clips that show the abuse during a news conference Wednesday in Albuquerque...more