Region of Spain Bans Bullfighting

Spain is known for its bullfighting, but lawmakers in one northeast region of the country voted today to ban the barbaric event.

As of January 2012 bullfighting will be illegal in Catalonia.

Barcelona, the region's capital, used to have three bullrings. Now it has one, and attendance has been low. Still animal-rights advocates and bullfighting fans both view this ban as an impetus to further outlaw bullfighting in Spain and elsewhere.

"The suffering of animals in the Catalan bullrings has been abolished once and for all[," said Leonardo Anselmi of PROU, an animal-rights group]. "It has created a precedent we hope will be replicated by other democratic Parliaments internationally, in those regions and countries where such cruel bullfights are still allowed."

Such regions include parts of South America, Mexico, southern France and Portugal.

Until two weeks ago, I didn't know exactly what bullfighting entailed. It's gruesome.

Lances are driven into the bull's head and neck muscles and are then twisted to ensure a lot of blood loss. Then bright sticks with harpoon points are plunged into his back.

Finally, the matador appears and, after provoking a few exhausted charges from the dying animal, tries to kill the bull with his sword. If he misses, succeeding only in further mutilation, an executioner is called in to stab the exhausted animal to death.

[...]

If the crowd is happy with the matador, the bull's ears and tail are cut off and presented as a gift.

This isn't a sport; it's public animal torture.

Joan Puigcercos, a Catalan lawmaker, said this about the bullfighting ban: "We have a responsibility that goes beyond the borders of Catalonia. It is a responsibility to civilization."

(Photo courtesy of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.)

Cow, Calf Shot Dead at Fair; Vet Blames Victim

A tragic incident today at the California State Fair illustrates just how happy the state's "happy cows" really are.

This morning a pregnant cow who was on exhibit -- yes, you read that right -- broke free. Veterinarians tried to tranquilize her, but the gun didn't fire. So supposedly to prevent human injuries or death, the supervising veterinarian gave police permission to shoot the cow.

She was shot several times in her side because police didn't know "how to properly euthanize" a cow. I'm sure proper euthanasia would have meant that the calf -- a source of future profit -- would live. But the cow and her calf both died. And, I hate to say this, but it's probably just as well, considering the life dairy cows lead.

The veterinarian added insult to injury (or death, in this case).

The supervising veterinarian at the fair said the animal was angry and upset.

"I think she's a nutcase," Dr. Ben Norman said. "She doesn't respond too well."

[...]

"My decision was, because I didn't want to cause any problems with the people here at the fair," Norman said. "She wasn't predictable ... also, she's a little mean."

I'd be a "little mean," too, if I were imprisoned, about to give birth and on display and I knew my baby was going to be stolen from me like my previous ones had been.

And for a doctor to use the term "nutcase," it's insulting to the cow and to people who have mental-health disorders. This situation is simply further evidence that most veterinarians, especially those charged with tending to farmed animals, don't have the animals' best interests at heart.

Witness Carolyn Hayden, who filmed the incident, was upset after the shooting.

"I will tell everybody what I saw," witness Carolyn Hayden said. "It was awful, it was like the worst thing I've ever seen happen."

Last summer a pregnant cow at the the Kalamazoo (Mich.) County Fair broke free as she was being unloaded into the Miracle of Birth tent. She was to remain on display until she gave birth, a common attraction at these disgusting events.

After 45 minutes she was barricaded after being lured into a corner by the sight of a newly born calf.

If you're still consuming dairy, please put yourself in the position of these cows. Their suffering is unimaginable. Please don't support it.

(Photo of the cow at last year's Kalamazoo County Fair, courtesy of Sam Zomer/ Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette.)

Book Explores Animal Ag's Psychological Hold

I just finished reading "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism" by Melanie Joy, and I highly recommend it.

The book explores the psychology behind eating meat, which goes beyond simply being raised to eat meat.

Joy, a social psychologist and professor of psychology and sociology, examines the ways that animal agribusiness, and society as a whole, prevent people from questioning and changing their behavior.

Joy has coined a new term to describe meat-eaters: carnists.

Carnists are not merely omnivores. An omnivore is an animal -- human or nonhuman -- that has the physiological ability to ingest both plants and meat. But, like "carnivore," "omnivore" is a term that describes one's biological constitution, not one's philosophical choice. Carnists eat meat not because they need to, but because they choose to, and choices always stem from beliefs.

The book, though, doesn't criticize carnists. In fact, it's written for them, for people who haven't escaped animal agribusiness's mind-hold.

But vegetarians and vegans should read this book, too, not only to learn the psychology behind this ingrained behavior but possibly to generate strategies for appealing to carnists to change their ways. Of course, as Joy writes, people won't change until they're psychologically ready. But every little bit, every seed we plant, helps.

Because it's packed with so much information and terms, "Why We Love Dogs" is a book that I will likely read again.

Joy writes of psychic numbing, "a psychological process by which we disconnect, mentally and emotionally, from our experience." In some instances, like a tragic accident, this psychic numbing helps us.

But it becomes maladaptive, or destructive, when it is used to enable violence, even if that violence is as far away as the factories in which animals are turned into meat.

Joy also describes the invisibility of the animal-agribusiness system.

When an ideology is entrenched, it is essentially invisible.

Such is the case with meat-eating. It's so pervasive in our culture, that unless you're a vegetarian or a vegan, you don't even notice it. It's taken for granted.

It's also physically invisible, for although 10 billion land animals are killed each year in the United States, we never see them until they are dead and packaged. As Paul McCartney once said, if slaughterhouses had glass walls, we'd all be vegetarians. But those involved in animal agribusiness do their damnedest to keep us out. When an undercover investigator gains access and exposes the inner workings, the ag industry works to prevent another breach.

I'd like to thank Melanie Joy for giving us the word "carnist." By being able to use "carnist" -- which denotes a conscious choice -- rather than "meat-eater" -- which simply denotes an action -- I feel more empowered as an animal-rights advocate.

If you're a carnist, you have a choice. I hope you'll choose a diet consistent with your values.

Marketing Animal Cruelty

Just last month a restaurant in Arizona offered its patrons a "lion burger" in an effort to capitalize on the World Cup craze.

More recently other animals have been used in other cruel marketing stunts.

A tour operator in Russia is being investigated for animal cruelty after he forced a donkey to parasail to attract attention for a private beach.

The donkey was then towed by a boat for half an hour, initially flailing its legs and then hanging forlornly under a multi-coloured parachute at least 30 metres above the surf.

The operator's marketing ploy backfired, as vacationers were dismayed by the antic.

The donkey screamed as he sailed through the air, and children on the ground cried when they saw him.

"This is a little town and we all know that donkey well," one local woman told reporters. "He worked for several years on the beach, being photographed with tourists. As soon as his ordeal was over, a lot of the people on the beach ran forward to soothe him."

Lobster Claws

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has brought attention to a so-called game found at some bars and restaurants, including The Beach Club in Long Beach, Calif.

People "playing" the Lobster Zone maneuver a mechanical arm to pick up a lobster. It's like those money-draining games you see at children's venues, where the metal claw only rarely is able to pluck a toy from the machine. Only this game is even less fun, especially for the lobster, who, after being caught, is "dropped down a chute, boiled or cut up while still alive, and then eaten."

Jerome Lapin, president of American Coin Merchandising, has come out against this machine.

"As the world's largest operator of skill crane machines, we are totally opposed to this inappropriate use of this type of equipment. ... We can only hope that the people playing these skill cranes come to realize this is a sadistic misuse of machines designed to dispense toys and teddy bears."

If you'd like to ask The Beach Club owner Steve Hoy to stop using this cruel device and to stop torturing lobsters, you can do so here.

99 Bottles of What on the Wall?

When I stop to think about the people who were charged with coming up with these outrageous and incredibly inhumane gimmicks, it's disconcerting.

We all have devious, perhaps occasionally evil, thoughts, but we know enough not to act on them. What kind of person mulls over a campaign and thinks, "I know! Let's bottle beer in the bodies of dead animals. That'll get us customers."

But some idiot did act on that idea.

BrewDog, a brewer in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, has bottled beer in the taxidermied bodies of stoats (also known as shorttail weasels), squirrels and hares.

A Doncaster-based taxidermist worked on the animals and has insisted that the animals were not killed for bottling, with some having been killed on roads.

But he doesn't say how the others were acquired or where their supply would come from if the demand is high. Hopefully that won't happen, though. Each bottle sells for 500 pounds.

Founder James Watt's marketing is drunk on hyperbole.

"This is the beer to end all beers. It's an audacious blend of eccentricity, artistry and rebellion; changing the general perception of beer, one stuffed animal at a time."

When I think of a stuffed animal, the image of my childhood bedroom comes to mind, with assorted stuffed animals gathered on my bed. They were toys that had never been alive. Why not use those?

Of course, Watt has an answer.

He also added that it is better for the animals to be: "celebrated and valued than left to rot."

Perhaps it's time to dig up Grandma and "celebrate" her.

I realize that simply by blogging about these stunts, I'm providing advertising for these cruel ventures. However, I'm convinced that most people will be repulsed by this animal cruelty and won't frequent these businesses.

(First photo courtesy of Time; second photo courtesy of TheDrum.co.uk; third photo features a living stoat.)

Post-Massage Colds a Message From One's Body

I've had two professional massages in my life, the first in 2003 and the second just two days ago from a friend who's studying Asian bodywork and massage. (Ok, so she's not a professional yet, but she's close enough for me.)

Within days of getting each massage, I came down with a cold.

After the first instance I was told that I should have drunk a lot of water after my massage, as the massage releases toxins in the body. I remembered that advice after my more recent massage, but apparently I didn't drink enough.

Although colds are yucky, they've proven to me that massages are incredible tools and have confirmed that our bodies are amazing entities.

On a massage forum I found this comment from a person whose credentials are unknown, so take it with a grain of salt. Although it does make sense to me.

Other things can build up too like cellular debris, viruses and bacteria. Some people actually catch a cold after a massage because something was left dormant too long in their muscle tissue.

According to a piece written by a chiropractic orthopedist and a licensed massage therapist, there are times when one shouldn't get a massage.

If you think you are getting a cold or getting sick or you actually are sick, a massage will only make you worse. It is too much for the body to handle. Also if you are over-fatigued, a massage may be too much for you.

I felt fine before -- and during -- the massage, so I believe that the massage awoke the dormant virus.

I'm amazed by how our bodies work. We don't give them enough credit or treat them as well as we should. I know I need to start stimulating my body with yoga and soothing it with meditation. And you, my dear omnivorous reader, need to refrain from putting parts of dead animals into your body. (Sounds weird, doesn't it? But that's what you're doing.)

By getting this cold, my body has taught me something: I can't go seven years between massages. Now I have an excuse to get one on a regular basis.

Do you have a massage story you'd like to share? Or how about natural cold remedies? (I swear by hot tea.)

Beagles, Monkeys From Testing Lab Find Freedom

A group of beagles and and of monkeys recently got their first taste of freedom, as they were rescued from an animal-testing facility after it went out of business.

AniClin Preclinical Services in Oxford, N.J., closed a few months ago, leaving 120 beagles and 55 macaque monkeys behind.

AniClin's parent company, Azopharma, went into bankruptcy on Good Friday, April 2 and the building housing these animals was locked up with a sign posted for employees not to return.

Advocacy group Win Animal Rights succeeded in getting the animals released.

According to a former employee, only one of the beagles had been used for testing. But all lived the lives of property, not of dogs.

Day after day, month after month, year after year, they were confined to plexiglass crates, fed and watered on precise schedules, kept clean. But with no opportunity to leave their solitary little boxes and spend time with others like themselves, the 118 beagles — lab dogs used to test drugs and chemicals — displayed nothing of the much-acclaimed breed's characteristics: joyful, noisy and curious.

As you can see in this video, the dogs were unaccustomed to grass.



Freedom (pictured top-right), one of the rescued dogs, even attended this year's Animal Rights Conference this past weekend in Arlington, Va.

Animal-rights group In Defense of Animals helped transport the 55 macaque monkeys to sanctuaries in Oklahoma and Texas. IDA is now led by Scotlund Haisley, who oversaw animal-rescue teams for The Humane Society of the United States.

We don't know what exactly they were doing to the monkeys. We do know that the monkeys, who are 4 – 6 years old, were, according to the lab, being held in individual housing, isolated from each other. Some enclosures even faced the wall at one point, so they couldn't even see other monkeys – just one of numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act cited by the USDA that attest to the anguish these monkeys endured in the lab, including psychological suffering so severe that some were pulling hair out from their chest, shoulders and forearms.

I hope that events like this create more awareness about the victims of vivisection -- like animal agribusiness, an industry that exists behind closed doors.

While sensitive animals are imprisoned and tortured, people like animal experimenter J. David Jentsch become wealthy. Jentsch is a professor of behavioral neuroscience and an animal experimenter at UCLA. He also created the pro-animal-testing organization Pro-Test for Science, which has been called "a publicity stunt aimed at preserving researchers' federal funding and turning public attention from the nature of the researcher's own work, which involves addicting monkeys to methamphetamine."

In May Jentsch bought a house for $1.029 million in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He sold his previous home, which he had purchased for $670,000 in December 2007, to the Regents of the University of California.

Anti-Vivisection Protesters' Indictment Thrown Out

On a related note, a judge last week dismissed the indictment against four protesters charged under the Animal Rights Terrorism Act for a series of protests in California against animal experimentation.

Judge Ronald M. Whyte ruled that the government's indictment against the AETA 4 didn't specify what crimes the four were alleged to have committed.

In order for an indictment to fulfill its constitutional purposes, it must allege facts that sufficiently inform each defendant of what it is that he or she is alleged to have done that constitutes a crime. This is particularly important where the species of behavior in question spans a wide spectrum from criminal conduct to constitutionally protected political protest.

The government has the option to re-indict the four.


(Photo of Freedom courtesy of OnePlanetOnePerson.com.)

'Forks Over Knives,' 'PLANEAT' Examine Role of Meat, Dairy on Health

I can't wait to see two new films about how people's animal-based diets affect their health.

"Forks Over Knives," in part, looks at T. Colin Campbell's research findings, which he published in his best-selling book, "The China Study." Campbell's research found that animal protein -- the kind people consume when they consume animals or their secretions -- can trigger cancer.

The title of the documentary refers to how simply changing the way we eat can save us from having to undergo drastic surgery.

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

I'm not sure when this film will be released. The trailer says this summer, but the Web site says this fall. Whichever it is, you can bet I'll be there.

"PLANEAT" not only looks at the role an animal-based diet plays on our health, but also how it affects the environment.

‘PLANEAT’ is a provocative challenge to our love of meat and dairy. Tracking the work of a group of scientists, doctors and environmentalists, the film forces us to confront the evidence that a heavily animal-based diet is bad for our health, the environment and the future of the planet.

The movie is making its way through film festivals. No release date has been set.

These two films give me such hope!

Regardless how one feels about animals, people need to be told how what they're eating is affecting them. Although I have a family history of breast cancer, no doctor had ever told me that eating meat could affect my chances of getting it.

It's time people's eyes were opened to the medical realities of an animal-based diet.

A Nice Day for a Vegan Wedding

Although Keith and I got married in December, we waited until June to have a small, casual, outdoor ceremony for family and friends.

A few weeks ago we gathered at Messenger Woods in Homer Glen (IL) for the short ceremony. The forecast called for a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms, but the day -- both weather-wise and overall -- was beautiful.



We feasted on an Indian buffet at the Orland Park Civic Center.

The food, catered by the Taj Mahal restaurant in Orland Park, was delicious. The Taj Mahal is one of our favorite restaurants and definitely our favorite Indian one.

The food, including the yummy cake from Bleeding Heart Bakery, was vegan.

In lieu of gifts, we suggested guests donate to one of three non-profits: Vegan Outreach, which leaflets colleges to spread awareness of farmed-animal cruelty; South Suburban PADS, which provides shelter and support services to homeless people; and Equality Illinois, which fights for equal rights -- including marriage -- for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in this state.

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(Top photo: Our boys -- Poncho, Snickers and Cooper -- pose for a shot with us. Bottom photo: My niece, Reed, was our beautiful flower girl.)

McDonald's CEO Disrespects Animals ... and People

Although I've attended protests before -- of pet stores and KFC -- today I attended my first PETA protest.

We gathered at the entrance of McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner's gated community in Oak Brook, IL.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been protesting the way the restaurant chain slaughters chickens. I wrote about the resumption of its McCruelty campaign in February 2009 when Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders attended a protest outside Chicago's Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's.

In the slaughterhouses of McDonald's U.S. and Canadian chicken suppliers, birds are dumped out of their transport crates and hung upside down in metal shackles, which can result in broken bones, extreme bruising, and hemorrhaging. Workers have the opportunity to abuse live birds, and birds have their throats cut while they are still conscious. Many birds are immersed in tanks of scalding-hot water while they are still alive and able to feel pain.

Perhaps by taking the issue to Skinner's home (or as close to it as the gated fortress would let us) he'll reconsider this method of slaughter.

While we didn't see Skinner, his neighbors were not pleased to see us. One woman who claimed to be a PETA member told us we shouldn't be there. Asked why, she said it was because she lived there. She also reminded us that chickens aren't pets and that people need to eat.

I don't disagree.

But people don't need to eat flesh, and chickens can experience pain just like dogs and people. Shouldn't McDonald's lessen that pain?

(Of course, people who truly care about an animal's pain should go vegan.)

Would you eat Silly Putty?
In other McDonald's news, China is investigating the safety of two chemicals found in McNuggets.

A CNN investigation in June found that McNuggets -- those sold both in the United States, as well as in China -- contain "tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product, and dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent used in cosmetics and other goods," such as Silly Putty.

McDonald's claims the chemicals are "harmless."

I ate McNuggets regularly as a kid, and I certainly would have liked to have known they contained these non-food components.

It's sad that people like McDonald's CEO Skinner accumulate wealth by not caring how animals -- both human and non -- are treated.

(Photos courtesy of Keith A. Means.)

'Scholar' Lacks Understanding of Veganism

Intelligence is way up there on the list of qualities I admire in someone.

In fact, it was learning about the intelligence of pigs and chickens that caused me to go vegetarian four years ago.

Advanced degrees don't necessarily equate with intelligence, as is evident in a piece published earlier this week in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Just the headline alone -- "Vegans and the Quest for Purity" -- indicates the author is barking up the wrong tree. Veganism isn't about being pure. Vegans aren't perfect nor are we pure. We're simply regular people who have been awakened to the cruelty that we had been contributing to.

The piece includes an impressive bio of its author, Harold Fromm, at the end.

Harold Fromm is a visiting scholar in English at the University of Arizona. He is author of The Nature of Being Human: From Environmentalism to Consciousness (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009) and co-editor, with Cheryll Glotfelty, of The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (University Press of Georgia, 1996)

Given his published works, one would assume Fromm had more environmental knowledge than the average person. But his piece includes a tired argument against veganism.

Furthermore, there are critics who explain that farming vegetables involves the killing of huge numbers of animals with plows, pesticides, and herbicides.

Somehow Fromm doesn't know -- or doesn't want to admit -- that farmed animals are fed plants. So meat-eaters end up killing more plants than do vegans.

I have to give Fromm credit, though. He has provided an "argument" against veganism that I'd never heard before.

And since we are carnivores ("omnivores," if that makes you feel better) from the moment of conception, we emerge from the womb already "guilty." Even if our parents eschewed meat, to have been born at all we must have been eating our mother during gestation, and after birth we need her milk, which is just another dairy product from animals.

I must not have been paying attention when it was reported that fetuses actually eat their mothers.

A fetus takes in part of the foods that a mother consumes, but a pregnant woman is not being eaten from the inside. But even if she were, that has nothing to do with veganism, as the mother has (hopefully) consented to the pregnancy.

As for her breast milk, she is willingly giving that to her newborn baby. That's who the breast milk was designed for.

Cows, on the other hand, are forcibly impregnated (raped) and their milk, which should be given to their calves, is taken from them and fed to people.

It's sad that Fromm, if he researched veganism at all, doesn't understand the difference.

Ducklings Enjoy Life After Hatchery

Today's post is a mixed bag of updates.

First, the good news.

Some ducklings rescued from a California hatchery are enjoying life at Farm Sanctuary in Orland, Calif.

Eighty-eight birds were taken from Cal-Cruz Hatcheries in Santa Cruz after Compassion Over Killing conducted an undercover investigation there in January 2009. The group released its video last month after prosecutors chose not to charge anyone with abuse.

Of the 88 birds rescued, 38 survived and were brought to Farm Sanctuary, where all but eight were adopted to forever homes.

According to Leanne Cronquist, the shelter director for Farm Sanctuary in Orland, these Pekin ducklings likely would have been killed for their flesh when they reached 6 weeks old. They were rescued at 5 weeks. Thankfully they get to experience a full life, likely 6 to 8 years but possibly 10.

"This was the first group of rescued ducklings since I started working for Farm Sanctuary," Cronquist said via e-mail. "They were very shy at first and tended to stick close together. When we gave them a pool for the first time, they became very excited. Of course they were pretty small, so we created steps so they could easily climb in and out. But once the first duck jumped in, everyone else quickly followed, forgoing the steps and trying to scramble over the high sides.

"Seeing them now it is clear how happy and unique they are. They have formed such tight bonds with each other. You can't deny that they have personalities and deserve better treatment than what was depicted in the video."

Daisy and Gordy are two particularly stand-out members of the flock. Daisy's beak may be disfigured, but she has dealt really well with her disability and gets along just fine. When it's time to eat, she skillfully digs her bill into the food bowl and scoops out as much as possible. She spends most of her time in our main pond with fellow hatchery escapees, Matt and Lenny. Because of her misshapen beak, Daisy makes nasal sounds when breathing which make her easy to find in a crowd! Because of minor health concerns, Gordy isn’t currently able to hang out with Daisy and the others so she spends her days with another survivor named Otis in a neighboring location. Incredibly boisterous, she always fluffs up her feathers and talks (loudly!) to every passerby.

The remaining three, Atlas, Aurora and Hendrix, also hang out with Daisy, Matt and Lenny in the main pond. Atlas and Aurora used to lived separately from our main group of ducks due to an initial health concern. But since then, they have been integrated into the flock and made friends with Hendrix. The three are inseparable.

Aurora and Atlas have long-term health problems, so they will remain at Farm Sanctuary, as will Hendrix since he's their buddy. But the other five can be adopted out to forever homes.

Don't have the ability to provide a home for them? Then how about "adopting" them financially through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Farm Animal Project?

"They get excited when their food is put down in the mornings and love to go down the hill to swim or nest," Cronquist said. "This is what their lives are meant to be."

Schwarzenegger Signs Egg Bill

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed into law a measure requiring all eggs sold in the state to comply with Proposition 2, which the voters passed in November 2008.

Prop 2, in part, phases out battery cages for "egg laying" hens in California by 2015. This new law closes a loophole: Eggs from battery cages in other states won't be sold in California, beginning in 2015.

Conklin Not Charged in Dairy Abuse

And now for the bad news.

Gary Conklin, who was seen kicking a sick cow on his dairy farm in Mercy For Animals' undercover video released in May, will not be charged with animal cruelty.

[Union County (Ohio) Prosecutor David] Phillips said the video posted on YouTube used out-of-context scenes to create a false perception that Conklin was involved in the abuse, but investigators and grand jurors saw the original video.

I'm interested in seeing a response from Nathan Runkle, founder of MFA, regarding this specific accusation. Runkle strikes me as someone who crosses all his "T"s and wouldn't deliberately allow a falsely "inflammatory" (Phillips' word) video to be released to the public.

For now, this is the only response from MFA that I've seen.

The group Tuesday said the decision not to charge Conklin has failed concerned citizens and animals that deserve protection, giving Conklin Farms "a free pass" for animal abuse. "Mercy For Animals was the only true watchdog and defender the animals at Conklin Dairy Farms had," said Daniel Hauff, the group's director of investigations. "The dairy industry and local law enforcement had all failed to detect the abuse or hold the abusers accountable."

Ironically Phillips had considered prosecuting the undercover investigator and Mercy For Animals for not reporting Billy Joe Gregg's abuse sooner. Gregg, an employee at the dairy facility, was the only person charged.

"As soon as the investigator and MFA became aware of Gregg's actions, someone should have notified law enforcement or the humane society," he said. "Had they done so, much of the abuse at the hands of Billy Joe Gregg shown on the video never would have happened, and the animals would have been spared."

Curious, isn't it? Phillips is concerned about the animals being spared. No animals on dairy farms, regardless how well they're treated, are spared. They are all slaughtered when they are no longer profitable.

If you care about sparing an animal, go vegan.

(Images courtesy of Farm Sanctuary.)