CARU SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY vs. DICK VAN DAM

Sep 30, 2020

OUTCOME: Closed

On behalf of a California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Colleen Sparks of Talkov Law Corp. together with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organi ... zation for animals, filed a lawsuit against Dick Van Dam Dairy. The Animal Legal Defense Fund explained that: “An undercover investigation by Animal Outlook found severe and pervasive animal abuse by dairy employees, including workers kicking and punching cows; jabbing cows in the faces, legs, and udders with splintered wooden canes and metal bars; twisting cows’ tails so hard that the bones broke; poking fingers in cows’ eyes; slamming cows with metal gates; leaving ailing newborn calves to die without making any attempt to provide care, then allowing their bodies to decompose alongside living cows; and abusing ‘downed’ cows – those too sick, weak, or injured to stand. Cows were documented to have injured or infected udders that leaked pus and even left milk pink with blood, necessitating that the dairy discard it.” As the Press-Enterprise reported: “The Sonoma County-based Animal Legal Defense Fund filed the suit in Riverside County Superior Court on Sept. 30, in conjunction with the Riverside-based Talkov Law Corp. The suit was announced Thursday. The ALDF has previously gone after dairies, zoos, pet stores and puppy mills, according to Kelsey Eberly, a senior staff attorney with the organization.”