A Chilliwack Cattle Sales rep announced in court Tuesday there are plans for at least one company owner to plead guilty to animal cruelty charges in December.
Cruelty charges came in the wake of a Mercy for Animals undercover investigation of the farm from June 2014, showing video taken by a hidden camera of workers kicking, punching, and beating dairy cows with chains, pipes, canes, and rakes.
An agent for Chilliwack Cattle Sales, which has been called the largest dairy farm in Canada, and one of the CCS owners, are expected to be sentenced at a hearing in December.
“Although the terms of sentencing have not been announced, Mercy For Animals urges the Chilliwack Law Court to sentence these animal abusers to the fullest extent of the law,” according to Krista Hiddema, MFA vice president.
Hiddema was planning to hold a press conference at the Century Plaza Hotel in Vancouver Tuesday afternoon to talk about the ground-breaking case.
The shocking video footage prompted B.C. agricultural minister Norm Letnick to amend the B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to incorporate the Dairy Code of Practice, with minimum guidelines for the treatment and welfare of dairy cows.
Mercy For Animals is calling on all provinces, including BC, to give the Dairy Code the force of law in provincial legislation.
“Justice is finally being served for these abused and exploited animals,” said MFA president Nathan Runkle.
