Ohio dairy farm worker accused of beating cows with crowbars, charged with animal cruelty

Everyone knows crowbars are for beating Crows! Not Cows! He just forgot about the R is all.

That his crimes only rate a felony charge is so unbelievably ridiculous I don't even really know what to say. As I understand it he would get 90 days for every count of animal cruelty he's found guilty of, but that is still far, far less than he deserves. They really need a whole different justice system for people like this.

Should kids that burn ants with magnifying glasses be charged as an adult?

that's hardly a fair comparison.

Ask the ants.

Ummm... where can I get this fella's address?

I live two counties away from where this happened. While I fully agree these people should be prosecuted, Mercy For Animals is shamelessly politicizing this in a way non-Ohioans may not realize.

The deplorable conditions uncovered at Conklin Dairy Farms highlight the reality that animal agriculture is incapable of self-regulation and that meaningful federal and state laws must be implemented and strengthened to prevent egregious cruelty to farmed animals.

These animals rights activists tried to pass legislation to create a regulatory commission to ensure that livestock within the state are being treated "humanely." The commission was going to be run by animal rights nuts with unreasonable and costly demands (such as providing unnecessarily large pens, routine inspections, and unnecessary paperwork). Dairy farms in particular have been leaving Ohio and this would have only been made worse. So the farmers banded together to form their own regulatory commission run by farmers, which passed on the ballot last November. The idea was that farmers, with their professional knowledge, would be much more efficient and reasonable. So of course MFA and PETA had a big hissy fit b/c their underhanded attempt to turn livestock into pampered pets failed.

Although many of the abuses documented at Conklin Dairy Farms are sadistic in nature, numerous MFA undercover investigations at dairy farms, pig farms, egg farms, hatcheries and slaughterhouses have revealed that violence and abuse to farmed animals – whether malicious or institutionalized – runs rampant nationwide.

I question the validity of this statement. I've never met a farmer who didn't care greatly for their livestock. I've never met a dog owner who didn't care greatly for their dog, either. Now, obviously both livestock and dogs are abused from time to time, but to claim such behavior is "rampant" is an exaggeration. They're trying to push an agenda. Should every dog owner be reviewed by a commission from time to time because of Michael Vick's atrocities? No, but a vet is responsible for reporting injuries that are suspicious.

Compassionate consumers can end their direct financial support of farmed animal abuse by rejecting dairy, and other animal products, and adopting a vegan diet.

Yeah, these are asshole yupppies who live in suburbs trying to impose their crazy animal-ethics onto the country farmers. Their goal isn't to make farmers treat animals better, it's to put the farmers out of business by wrapping the industry up in so much red tape that it's not worth any potential profits.

Self-regulation of any industry usually leads to short cuts, corruption and abuses. While I don't think it's appropriate that the animal protectionists should be single-handedly responsible for the regulation of the livestock farming industry, it seems only right that there should be a third party regulator, or at least a coalition of farmers and animal rights people looking out for both the health of the industry and the animals within it.

I'm all for big government. I'm quite the socialist. But there comes a point where it becomes intrusive, where bureaucracy hinders rather than helps. I think that abusing animals is cruel, but it doesn't matter enough to waste our government's resources. Most farmers treat their livestock respectfully and even become emotionally attached to it. Abusing your livestock is about as economical as beating your tractor with a bat.

Here in Ohio our state government and our farmers don't need to be burdened with bureaucratic hoops for everyone to jump through. We need funding for education, roads, and to prevent crime. When creating absurd regulatory committees that are totally unnecessary it bolsters conservatives' arguments that small government is better. It also bolsters the argument that the only important rights are negative rights.

They really need a whole different justice system for people like this.-_kit

There is a lot less difference between a "cruel" person and a "normal" person than many would like to believe.

No I'd say there's a pretty big difference. Not to say that many (or even most) people might have certain cruel feelings or impulses, but not every one is acting them out.