Tuesday evening radical vegan activist organization Mercy For Animals (MFA) released an "undercover" video of animal abuses on a dairy near Plain City, Ohio.  Claiming the video was filmed over a four week period on Conklin Dairy Farm in rural Union County, the video depicts farm employees beating, kicking, and savagely prodding dairy cows and calves.

"The actions on the video speak for themselves," said Joe Cornely, spokesman for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.  "I don't know any farmers who condone these type of actions.  I haven't spoken to anyone this morning who condones these types of actions."

Released to the Associated Press and on the group's website, the MFA video was deemed too graphic to be shown on at least one Columbus television news program.  MFA says they have released the video to the Union County Prosecuting Attorney, who was not immediately available for comment this morning.  Angry consumers and activists dominated the Prosecutor's Facebook page with comments demanding action and deploring the abuses shown on the video.

"Activists will spin this to tar the entire industry," Cornely said, "but we know that this video does not represent the vast majority of farmers."  Comparing the video to cases of abused animals and horses, he pointed out that no one draws the conclusion that "all pet owners abuse their pets."

Hear Andy Vance's full interview with OFBF's Joe Cornely.

UPDATE:

Ohio dairy farmers were outraged by the abuses depicted in the footage releaed by MFA.  "The willful abuse of the animals shown in the video footage is clearly unacceptable and will not be tolerated," said Jenny Hubble, Vice President of Communications at the Ohio Dairy Producers Association (ODPA).

“Furthermore, the actions shown in the footage absolutely do not reflect how Ohio’s dairy farmers as a whole care for their cows and calves.  Our farmers have a moral and ethical obligation to provide excellent care of our herds every day, and they do so, because it is the right thing to do and it ensures they can continue to produce safe, wholesome, quality milk and dairy foods," Hubble said.

MFA's website claimed that "conditions uncovered at Conklin Dairy Farms highlight the reality that animal agriculture is incapable of self-regulation and that meaningful federal and state laws must be implemented and strengthened to prevent egregious cruelty to farmed animals."  ODPA's Hubble, however, says further regulation of Ohio dairies is a gross overreaction because “Ohio’s dairy farmers follow a number of state and national programs that establish best practices for how cows and calves are cared for on our farms.  These programs include guidelines for housing, nutrition, disease prevention, and veterinary and preventative medical care."

Furthermore, agriculture advocates point out, the footage was released only hours ago, and they fully expect current anti-cruelty laws to be enforced.  “As representatives of Ohio’s dairy farm community, we take this situation very seriously, and we absolutely condemn the mistreatment of animals that took place on this farm," Hubble said.  We support a thorough and swift investigation of this matter with appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken.”

American Dairy Association Mid East CEO Scott Higgins comments on the new video.

UPDATE:

Kevin Elder of the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Livestock Environmental Permitting Program confirmed that the Conklin Dairy was too small to be regulated under his program's authority in regards to their environmental impact.