Mason Dixon Farms, a Dairy Farmers of America member farm in Pennsylvania, has recently become the target of an animal abuse campaign waged publically by activist group Compassion Over Killing (COK). DFA, the dairy industry and our individual farm owners do not tolerate abuse of any kind.
Immediately upon learning about this allegation, we initiated a third-party audit to investigate the claim. No evidence of abuse or mistreatment was found in this audit. Unfortunately, the actions captured on video by a member of COK who was undercover on this dairy, were concerning. An employee was terminated by the farm owner, and we worked with authorities in filing charges against him.
This individual’s actions were not representative of the ninth-generation family farm’s practices or practices on dairies in general. Despite that, today, long after the undercover activist left the farm and weeks after the initial allegation, COK began sharing a highly edited version of this video. In addition, Dairy Farmers of America executives received a letter from COK requesting an open dialogue.
As an organization and industry that has invested considerable resources in animal welfare, we welcome the opportunity for dialogue with any organization that has the best interests of our animals at heart.
Unfortunately, we question the agenda of organizations like Compassion Over Killing. Rather than work with us, they continue to use deceptive practices to go undercover recording footage over a period of months that is then used to create highly edited videos that distort what truly happens on America’s dairy farms.
Anyone who truly cares about animals would not go undercover and observe, incite or fail to immediately report incidents of abuse. We encourage anyone who suspects animal abuse on our dairies to report, not record that abuse.
Source: DFA
