Lakeland-based grocer Publix has suspended its relationship with a Florida dairy farm after an undercover video surfaced showing employees literally kicking cows in the face.
The very graphic video, which was released yesterday by Miami-Beach based animal cruelty investigative organization Animal Recovery Mission (ARM), was shot at Larson Dairy in Okeechobee, Florida, by a member who took a job milking cows less than a month ago.
Besides kicking bovine, the footage also shows employees attempting to get cows to move quickly into and out of their milking stalls by beating them with a steel rod.
“On day one, we started seeing serious abuse by the milkers, by the managers, by the foremen,” said ARM’s Richard Couto to CBS4.
Public issued a statement on Thursday to CBS4 saying “…We are disturbed by the images and shocked by the cruelty shown toward the animals.
We are suspending raw milk deliveries from that farm. At Publix, we care about and are committed to animal welfare”
We are aware of the undercover video taken at Larson Dairy and are shocked and disturbed by the cruelty shown toward the animals. We are suspending raw milk deliveries from that farm. We are also in contact with the FL Dept of Agriculture, and they have advised us they… 1/2
— Publix (@Publix) 10 de novembro de 2017
The incident is now being investigated by the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, reports the Palm Beach Post.
This post originally appeared on orlandoweekly.com
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