From IDA:

"A report recently released by the Humane Farming Association (HFA) documents inhumane treatment of cows at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Ore. The ongoing cruelty is so shocking that dairy workers themselves have stepped forward to blow the whistle on their employer, endangering their jobs and livelihood to expose the abuse.

Statements from workers allege that some of the male calves are separated from their mothers at birth and left to starve to death. An employee reports, "Supervisors usually shoot unwanted male calves. They don't die right away. Some lie on the floor and bleed out. Some have lied for three hours and are still alive." The dairy reportedly also kills calves by bashing their heads in or by swinging the calves by their hind legs and pounding their heads against the concrete floor.

The report also documents how workers are told to slice off a section of a cow's teat without anesthetizing the animal. The cows' teats are susceptible to infection due to the concrete floors being covered with manure, urine and standing flush water. To make matters worse, workers report the massive farm continues to milk cows with infected teats, a situation that workers first reported in a February 2005 article in the Portland Oregonian newspaper. One worker says, "?the blood and pus draining from the teat will go into the milk when the cow is milked." Another worker states, "The boss tells us to milk the cows even if they know the milk is bad. The milk will look like pieces of cheese."

Several months ago, HFA filed a formal petition with Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers demanding that criminal charges be brought against Threemile Canyon Farms for animal abuse. Yet in spite of having extensive documentation -- including worker statements, pictures and even video -- Myers has yet to take any action to stop abuse at Threemile. The fact the state of Oregon previously provided a $20 million taxpayer-funded subsidy to Threemile makes the state's inaction even more outrageous.

What You Can Do:

Please contact the Attorney General by postal mail, phone or personal email.

Attorney General Hardy Myers
Oregon Department of Justice
1162 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-4096
Tel: (503) 378-4400
Email: doj.info@state.or.us

Click http://www.hfa.org/campaigns/threemile_dairy_petition.pdf to read an abridged version of the HFA report. Also visit http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?b_code=res_gal&mode=view&b_no=2053&page=2 to see photos of the conditions that animals are forced to endure at Threemile Canyon Farm dairy. (Warning: the pictures are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)"