A hidden-camera video that shows severe confinement and other abuses of calves has caused Bob Barker to ask consumers to stop buying veal and dairy products.
The Emmy Award-winning former host of The Price is Right and a longtime animal advocate, Barker narrated the Mercy for Animals (MFA) video and joins the group in asking Americans nationwide to boycott the products that he says sentence animals to “a life of extreme deprivation and suffering.”
Barker urges stores that sell veal to examine production practices
Barker also sent letters to the CEOs of mega-retailers Costco and Giant Eagle, both of which sell veal from Buckeye Veal of Apple Creek, Ohio, the facility where MFA’s undercover footage was obtained, to call attention to the abuses.
"As a civilized society,” Barker wrote, “it's our moral obligation to prevent needless animal cruelty. Chaining baby calves in crates where they cannot even turn around is abusive and totally unacceptable."
On the video Barker says that the Buckeye video “uncovers the plight of the youngest victims of the veal and dairy industries—baby male calves doomed to a short life chained inside a tiny crate.”
"Due to its inherent cruelty, the American Veterinary Medical Association opposes chaining calves in restrictive crates," MFA states on its website, "and five U.S. states, as well as all 27 countries in the European Union, have outlawed their use.
Buying dairy supports the veal industry and abuse, says Barker
“Few consumers realize that veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry,” he explains. “Because dairy cows must be impregnated to produce milk, producers rip the newborn calves from their mother’s sides shortly after birth, so that humans can have the milk instead.”
The covert footage shot at Buckeye reveals “baby calves chained inside two-feet wide wooden stalls--so narrow they cannot turn around, walk, run, play, socialize with other animals, or engage in other basic natural behaviors,” as described on the MFA website. “In such tight confinement, the animals are unable to lie down comfortably, breathe fresh air, see sunlight, clean themselves or bond with their mothers. Sadly, the majority of calves raised for veal in the United States are subjected to this harsh and intensive confinement for their entire 18- to 20-week lives.”
Costco condemns the treatment of calves and demands higher humane standards
"We are extremely disappointed, not only with the performance of our supplier in this instance, but with our own performance as well," Costco CEO Jim Sinegal said in a media release. "We hold ourselves to a high standard, and in this case, we plainly did not perform to that standard."
Melissa Allison of The Seattle Times reported that Costco “will continue taking delivery of veal from its sole supplier, Atlantic Veal and Lamb of New York, which buys meat from some 120 farms including Buckeye Veal Farm near Wooster, Ohio, where the video was taken.”
Atlantic had told Costco that although some of their producers treat the calves as the video depicts, such handling is considered legal and acceptable practice, wrote Allison.
"We're telling them flat-out that it's not acceptable to us, and we will not accept any veal from those farms, period," Allison quoted Jeff Lyons, Costco's senior vice president of fresh foods. "They're going to have to go by our guidelines and policy, regardless of whether that's considered normal practice. It's not for us, and that might sound arrogant, but we just don't think that's the way to treat an animal."
Photo above courtesy Animals Voice.
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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) has written 18 books for major publishers and hundreds of articles for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, and two regional news wire services.
A cofounder of AnimalBeat.org, she holds a B.A. in Environmental Science Studies and a lifelong interest in animal issues.
Among her books are Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press), coauthored with Shelley Frost, and The Eco-Kids, a series of novels for tweens (Avon Books).
Her story "Small Change" placed as a finalist in The Bark magazine's short fiction contest and will be published this year.
She may be reached at youradopteddog@yahoo.com.
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