Footage Shows Central Valley Dairy Workers Kicking Young Calves, Pulling Them With Pliers

In precocious February, animal authorities activists flew a drone complete a calf ranch successful nan Central Valley and watched arsenic workers kicked and punched nan animals.

Footage reviewed by The Times shows a worker pulling a calf by nan chemoreceptor pinch pliers.

It shows 2 workers removing nan budding horns of a calf pinch a basking iron. While 1 held nan frightened animal’s head, nan different — wearing a sweatshirt pinch an image of nan Virgin Mary — applied nan robust to a horn. After a puff of smoke, nan calf fell to its side, appearing motionless.

Both antheral and female calves nutrient horns. To forestall wounded to nan animals and their handlers, these are commonly removed. Humane guidelines require nan usage of anesthesia.

The footage was collected by nan group Direct Action Everywhere, known for strategies including releasing beagles from aesculapian breeding accommodation and abused calves from farms. It was changeable astatine nan Agresti Calf Ranch successful Ceres, adjacent Modesto, which is certified by nan American Humane Society for its ethical curen of animals. The workers could not beryllium reached for comment. One was subsequently terminated, nan Humane Society said.

The Agresti Calf Ranch is operated by nan owners of Double D Dairy, conscionable up nan road. Double D Dairy owns much than than 10,000 cows crossed respective operations.

The proprietor of Double D, Dominic Assali, declined to reply questions successful person. A telephone number for nan dairy online is disconnected. In consequence to an email to his individual account, Assali said, “Animal use and information are incredibly important to us, and we person a zero-tolerance argumentation for immoderate mistreatment.

“We’ll ever return immediate, thorough action to reside immoderate operational issues, arsenic we person successful this instance,” nan email said.

The American Humane Society is simply a 150-year-old nonprofit focused connected animal welfare. Among different things, it certifies animal information connected farms arsenic good arsenic connected movie sets. In a statement, it said only 10% of animals raised connected farms successful nan U.S. are certified arsenic humanely treated.

Assali is nan grandson of nan farm’s founders, Harold and Marlene Agresti. He is simply a board personnel of Western United Dairies, nan largest dairy waste and acquisition group successful California.

The mistreatment captured connected video has besides created a headache for a salient California sustainable beverage brand, Clover Sonoma, based successful Sonoma County.

It gets 10% to 15% of its beverage from Double D, and Assali and his family are featured connected Clover Sonoma’s website. A Clover Sonoma motion hung extracurricular nan main dairy analyzable connected a caller visit. It’s unclear whether nan abused calves were being raised for beef aliases dairy.

Clover Sonoma markets its milk, yogurt and food products arsenic humanely originated and environmentally sound. It was nan first dairy institution to person a cruelty-free certification from nan American Humane Society successful 2000. The website besides features a “Our Promise” page, which states nan institution demands “the humane curen of animals.”

“We were profoundly concerned by nan reported mistreatment of immoderate cows captured connected video astatine Agresti Calf Ranch during a abstracted cattle operation,” nan institution said successful an email.

“Agresti Calf Ranch supplies immoderate cows to our milking partner farm, Double D Dairy, arsenic good arsenic different farms arsenic they go mature. The unsmooth handling shown astatine Agresti Calf Ranch is contrary and inconsistent pinch nan humane practices we person fostered for decades and which we request of each our suppliers.”

Clover Sonoma said it suspended business pinch Double D arsenic soon arsenic it became alert of nan incidents and began “a rigorous audit,” which conscionable ended.

“Clover and nan American Humane Society person concluded that nan mistreatment was an isolated issue, not systemic aliases reflective of Agresti Calf Ranch’s personnel. Corrections person been made, including nan termination of nan worker successful nan video. As such, we are comfortable reinstating nan beverage from Double D Dairy.”

A connection from nan Humane Society said Clover Sonoma is moving pinch Double D to fortify its whistleblower argumentation and training, and has “reiterated its committedness to ongoing independent, third-party audits,” pinch some announced and unannounced visits.

Clover Sonoma chiefly buys and processes beverage from dairies successful verdant Sonoma County, arsenic nan company’s trading suggests. Double D Dairy is 1 of its fewer suppliers successful nan Central Valley, which is associated much pinch industrial-scale agriculture.

On a caller weekday, nan calf ranch and dairy workplace were visible from a nationalist road. Holstein calves, a celebrated dairy breed, could beryllium seen successful cages done mini trees successful beforehand of nan enclosures. The sound of mooing and a unit washer could beryllium heard. The smell of manure and ungraded wafted successful nan humid air.

Most dairy companies region calves from their mothers aft birth, raising them separately truthful they don’t return nan mother’s commercially valuable milk. Some dairy farms nonstop calves retired to third-party calf ranches for rearing. Others raise them on-site. Female calves are typically raised to go beverage cows. Male calves are sent distant to go beef aliases different meat-based products, specified arsenic pet food.

A 2025 State Water Board archive shows nan workplace houses an mean of 700 calves astatine immoderate 1 time, pinch a maximum 1,400.

The Direct Action Everywhere activists were precocious connected a nationalist roadworthy adjacent Double D’s main farm, flying a drone complete nan property. Within 30 minutes of their arrival, 7 Stanislaus County sheriff’s vehicles arrived and surrounded nan activists.

A heavy equipped serviceman asked to spot nan drone pilot’s Federal Aviation Administration license, which he provided. After confirming it was valid, a sheriff’s lawman — 1 of 9 astatine nan segment — told nan activists they could stay connected nan roadworthy but could not trespass.

Asked astir nan dense response, a lawman said location had been respective caller convulsive incidents from animal authorities groups astatine nan site, and mentioned nan groups had sent successful “busloads” of activists.

The Times reached retired to nan Sheriff’s Office to get much specifications astir those events but did not get a response.

Temple Grandin, writer and professor of livestock medicine astatine Colorado State University, said that punching and kicking livestock is considered abusive.

An master successful livestock welfare, she said that handlers tin tap, push and nudge animals. But if nan level of unit goes beyond what could crook nan broadside of a cardboard box, “it’s abuse. Period.”

She said nan calves’ guidance to nan basking robust indicates that symptom medication, specified arsenic lidocaine, was not applied earlier nan procedure. Double D did not respond to a mobility astir whether medicine was fixed earlier nan procedure.

A pickup motortruck rolls by nan barns astatine Agresti Calf Ranch astatine sunrise successful Ceres.

(Tomas Ovalle/For The Times)

The calves astatine nan ranch look to unrecorded successful adjoining pens outside, nether 1 metallic roof. The stalls are separated by concatenation link. The floors are plastic, punctuated pinch holes, presumably for drainage. No bedding could beryllium seen from nan drone’s camera.

Neither Clover Sonoma nor Double D responded to questions astir nan bedding.

The American Humane Society‘s Humane Certified Program requires that calves person entree to a barren furniture astatine each times.