Shining a Light on Hidden Cruelty
Livestock Auctions: the backbone of farmed animal exploitation
2024
SEED went undercover into seventeen livestock auctions across ten states from 2022 to 2024. Our investigation revealed distressing, consistent, and often illegal cruelty towards animals in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, New Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and California. This cruelty was evident regardless of species or type of farm the animals originated from—be it neglectful factory farms or small, independent family farms where animals were hand-raised and named.
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Erath County Dairy Sales
Undercover Investigation into Texas Cattle Auction Reveals Food Safety Violations
2021
At ECDS, our investigator uncovered the illegal replacement of cows’ federal identification tags. In doing so, ECDS was essentially erasing the cows’ true ownership, travel, and disease histories, preventing the tracing of disease outbreaks and directly affecting the safety of our food system. Cruelty was also rampant. Sick cows were left to suffer without veterinary treatment or euthanasia, and cows and calves were left in pens with no access to food or water. The overuse of electric prods on downed cattle was commonplace. On multiple occasions, employees unsuccessfully attempted to euthanize cows with a rifle during which they were left to suffer amongst euthanized cows in what are known as “dead piles.”