The owner of Ontario Livestock Sales in Ontario, California and seven workers there are facing charges of animal cruelty after an undercover video, shot by the advocacy group Mercy for Animals using a buttonhole camera, showed them beating animals and handling them roughly. The owner, Horacio Santorsola, and seven of his employees could receive a maximum of a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted.
According to the Huffington Post, the video shows workers "kicking and stomping on pigs to get them to move through a narrow chute, hitting emus with a baton and slinging baby goats by the neck and hind legs. In one shot, two workers drag a sick sheep that can't walk by its ears and heave it into the back of a van."
These were not the only disturbing images. As prosecuters watched the "brutally improper" treatment of emus, pigs, cows, sheep, and goats, they enlisted the helps of veterinarians to point out when the animals were being abused. Prosecuter Reza Daghbandan said, "This isn't the same standard of care as a house pet would get ... but we felt comfortable that these instances went too far."
Holly Cheever is a veterinarian and expert witness in animal cruelty cases, and she said that the behavior on the tape crossed the line. "This is very clear cut abuse," she said. "The dragging of the downed animals, the tossing of the baby animals onto the floor... it's pretty unpleasant from beginning to end."
Santorsola, who has owned the business for 18 years, defended his actions by portraying them as a necessary part of the job. "How are you going to pick them up? They don't have a leash," he said. "They run, believe me, they do run." The company began 76 years ago and sells between 1,000 and 1,300 animals each week.
Prosecutors have filed a total of 21 misdemeanor counts against the defendants, who are not in custody.
Perhaps if the animals were treated to chiropractic massages and waterbeds, as some dairy cows are, it would result in better product for the company.
