Chilliwack cattle farm employees to plead guilty to animal abuse
Posted October 4, 2016 4:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS 1130) – The owner and three employees of a cattle farm in Chilliwack will plead guilty to animal abuse charges following an undercover video that showed workers beating cows, according to the farm’s lawyer.
Video taken by the group Mercy for Animals (MFA) in May 2014 shows employees at Chilliwack Cattle Sales beating animals with their hands and canes, kicking them, hoisting them into the air with chains, and poking festering wounds.
A year and a half later, the dairy farm’s owner and seven employees were charged.
On Wednesday, the lawyer for the owner and three employees said the men intend to plead guilty at the next hearing on Dec. 15.
“Justice is finally being served for the animals that were tortured in Chilliwack, but this is only a step in the right direction,” MFA Canadian vice president Krista Hiddema says.
MFA would like clearer laws, including adding the Dairy Code of Practice to the provincial animal cruelty legislation, and more resources for enforcement at farms across BC, Hiddema says.
“One example of oversight would be the inclusion of livestreaming video cameras into these facilities,” she says.
Each of 20 charges against the men carries a possible fine of $75,000, two years in prison and a lifetime ban of owning animals. Hiddema says MFA hopes the men accused will face the full punishment.
