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Research studies have led to fortunes being spent in the cattle feeding industry to change the way cattle are handled, but with animal rights activists becoming more aggressive in their tactics, feedyard managers may want to double their efforts. Careful handling can help eliminate injuries and scars on hides, thereby increasing the value of cattle on feed. It can also help eliminate injuries to feedyard personnel, lowering insurance costs and improving safety records. It can also help eliminate legal problems when it comes to dealing with animal rights activists. A former pig farm manager for Seaboard Farms has been charged with cruelty after an animal rights activists video taped him beating a pig. Texas County, Okla., District Attorney Donald E. Wood said Alego Pena was charged with four counts of cruelty to animals after activists with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, video taped him working with pigs in the Oklahoma Panhandle, a region which also has large concentrations of cattle feeding operations. Each charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $500 fine. Seaboard spokesman Gary Reckrodt said his company, the nation's third largest pork producer, is cooperating with authorities. PETA officials said they sent their undercover investigator to Guymon as a worker, and he documented the alleged abuses with a small video camera strapped to his body. A similar investigation by the group in North Carolina two years ago also resulted in felony charges of animal cruelty against three farm workers. Two of them pleaded guilty to reduced charges. In a message to their members, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association warned feedyard managers to thoroughly screen all employees during the hiring process, control access to their facilities, have employees report any unescorted visitors and report all threats, even minor ones, to law enforcement authorities. TCFA officials said animal rights activists have long posed a problem for the industry. © |
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