Cows have been found in a state of neglect and struggling to walk on a farm that supplies dairy giant Freshways, according to footage found in an undercover video.
The video – which also showed injured and suffering cows being left in shackles – was shot in secret by vegan organisation Viva! at a Red Tractor-approved dairy farm in Kent that supplies Freshways, one of the UK’s largest independent dairy suppliers.
Freshways customers include Iceland and Costa Coffee, as well as convenience stores Londis and Budgens.
The distressing footage also showed the animals being handled roughly, with one being hit in the udder and others being slapped or having their heads pushed as they were moved through the farm.
Some had shackles around their legs, with swollen and painful-looking hooves, while others were filmed hobbling, with over-full or ulcerated udders and showing signs of pain and distress.
Photographs were also taken of dead calves left in wheelie bins and a dead cow which had been left out in the open “with the potential to spread disease”.
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A letter to trading standards chiefs by lawyers at Advocates for Animals, first seen by The Independent, said: “Following a tip-off about violence and neglect at the farm from a credible informant, our client launched an undercover investigation.”
The farm, which has a milking herd of just over 500 cows, had also left a barn floor soaked with faeces and urine, and passageways with slurry on them, risking becoming slippery, Viva! claims.
Viva!’s founder and director Juliet Gellatley said: “Hours-old calves were isolated in metal pens, desperately trying to suckle my fingers and calling for their mothers.”
“What I found particularly harrowing was witnessing a lame cow who was struggling to walk get slapped and kicked, when she was clearly in need of medical attention. This type of treatment is part-and-parcel of factory farming.”
In response, Red Tractor said the farm complied with its animal-welfare standards. It told The Independent that the farm “has a strong and long-standing record of compliance with Red Tractor standards, and consistently demonstrates best practice in British dairy farming”.
It said it was “satisfied that the Viva! claims against the Red Tractor member are unfounded”.
A Freshways spokesman said: “Our response mirrors the response made by Red Tractor and we are confident of their investigation.”
Freshways has previously been in the spotlight after cows were beaten at one of its farms, revealed last February in footage shown by a BBC Panorama programme. The dairy company suspended its contract with the farm.
The news comes as on average, less than 3% of the UK’s estimated 291,000 farms were inspected annually by official Government bodies between 2018 to 2021, according to a recent report.
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The treatment of cows on dairy farms and their calves must be exposed nationally and continually until this cruelty is stopped and the farms are continually held to account The Red Tractor is not fit for purpose and they have been exposed before, their Red Tractor means nothing for the animals, it just seems to give licence to the dairy farms to continue thus deep rooted cruelty to such gentle and trapped animals. More exposure of the dairy farms cruelty is needed… NOW!! please…. NOW and until they are stopped.