Success: Farm Owners Convicted for Allowing Cow Torture

cow-by-keith-weller

Target: Robert Gunnell, Judge in the Provincial Court of British Columbia

Goal: Applaud decision to convict farm owners for allowing employees to abuse cows.

The owners of a dairy farm where employees allegedly abused cows have pled guilty and have been sentenced to pay $75,000 per count of abuse, the maximum monetary fine. One of Chilliwack Cattle Sales’ owners, Wesley Kooyman, was also convicted of another count of animal abuse, and he will be prohibited from having control over his factory farm or owning any animals for a year.

Judge Robert Gunnell, who handed down the ruling, said that the employees were not properly trained or supervised by the farm owners, resulting in the significant abuse the cows suffered. Wayne Kooyman would allegedly only check on his employees once a day, at 3:30 in the morning, and so the employees could easily hide their abusive behavior. As soon as the owners left, they would reportedly go back to beating the cows, kicking them, and hanging them from chains around their neck. The workers allegedly responsible for the abuse will go on trial in May.

This victory for farm animals is a result of tireless work from animal advocates, including members of the ForceChange community who signed petitions like this one. While the ruling cannot erase the abuse the cows faced, it will prevent more animals from needlessly suffering at the hands of cruel humans. Sign this petition to thank Judge Gunnell for standing up for these dairy cows.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Judge Gunnell,

Thank you for your recent sentencing of the owners of Chilliwack Cattle Sales. Your decision to fine the owners the maximum monetary amount allowed for their crimes shows that this type of animal abuse will not be tolerated in Canada.

The cows at Chilliwack Cattle Sales allegedly faced heinous acts of abuse from six employees who beat them, kicked them, and pulled hair out of their tails. The employees also reportedly hung the cows by chains from their necks and dragged them with a forklift. The employees were apparently able to get away with this because they were so poorly trained and supervised by the owners of Chilliwack.

The decision to convict Chilliwack’s owners of animal abuse was the right choice, and it can help prevent future employees from abusing cows on their farm. Thank you for standing up for the dairy cows who faced unfathomable cruelty.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Keith Weller


24 Comments

  1. One year? Really? They should never ever be allowed of having animals or a farm!

    • Colleen Geno says:

      I agree with you Carol, one year is not good enough! That person (?) should NEVER own an animal – any type of animal – and I think its only fair that the guy goes to prison for a while. I don’t care if his employees were trained or not! There is NO EXCUSE AT ALL FOR TORTURING AN ANIMAL!! NONE! and it makes my blood boil just thinking about those smug faces getting away with that horrible and evil behaviour!! They all ought to go to prison if you ask me, damn it!!

  2. ricki dewerdt says:

    I worked with all kinds of animals, both on the farm my ex and I owned, and with others, plus I worked at the stockyards with vet. I never used abuse on any cow or other animal, nor did I allow anyone working with me to do so. You don’t HAVE to beat animals for any reason. You can get more cooperation by talk7by quietly and moving gently then heating, screaming, etc. All this does is teach the animal to be scared and wild and crazy to get away from you. Some animals have a disposition that is genetic…don’t buy them if you haven’t got patience.

  3. Oh my word if you harm a human being you get injailed whats the different between a human and animals only one thing humans can talk animals not just imagine what fear they go threw while being totured and abused it breaks my heart !

  4. cathy Grossie says:

    A year! He should never be able to own another animal again. Sick of lenient sentences

  5. Darlene Avery says:

    Yes, I too am so sick of lenient sentences for vile animal abusers. Canada really is negligent in its protection of all animals. Shameful. One year–what a miscarriage of justice.

  6. Darlene Avery says:

    Yes, I too am so sick of lenient sentences for vile animal abusers. Canada really is negligent in its protection of all animals. Shameful. One year–what a miscarriage of justice.

  7. annie vallet says:

    This is great

  8. Susan Maranda says:

    All of those convicted should be jailed and NEVER ALLOWED to own another animal or run a farm containing animals.
    All animals feel pain, they love and understand and to be abused by Monsters is beyond my comprehension. I too am tired of the lenient punishment given out by the justice system in all countries.

  9. Hope Mr. Kooyman’s neighbors know what kind of person he is!Would love to see a protest at his Farm and house,show him what we think of his actions towards animals.

  10. ALL slaughterhouses should have hidden camera which should be reviewed daily and there should be a zero tolerance for ANY abuse to any animal.

    I realize this case is about more than slaughterhouses, but nevertheless, the abuse is terrible in most of them….needs to be addressed!

  11. Joanne Connarty says:

    Why was he only banned from owning animals for a year?? is he suddenly going to transformed from a sick,vile bastard into a decent human being in a year?? I think not.
    Sickos like that and his evil employees should be made an example of by the courts,its time they got the message.

  12. Marjorie Coey says:

    I am so proud of the agencies and committed animal rights workers who documented and stopped this disgusting abuse of poor defenseless animals.

    THROW THE BOOK AT THESE ABUSERS!!!

  13. Linda Barnett says:

    I will sign this petition of thanks, but I do not understand why only a 1 year ban has been given to the owners of this farm. This is not justice for these vulnerable and helpless livestock. Regarding the employees who abused the cows with such heinous acts of cruelty, these evil cowards should be severely dealt with and never allowed to work with animals again. Animal abusers must be severely dealt with.

  14. The only time this type of abusive horror HAPPENS is when negligent owners, profit-oriented, greedy and absent most of the time, hire employees with issues (aka issues re: “uncontrolled anger” and “need for superiority through abuse”, characteristics most likely expressed in everyday life as well) and leave these employees to do WHAT THEY MAY, not bothering in the least to keep an eye on things… In other words, NEGLIGENT MANAGEMENT. This is NO WAY to run a company, I mean what responsible company runs things this way…the upshot is that the owner is just as ACCOUNTABLE and guilty as the employees (“I’m aghast, had no idea this was happening”, a line widely used) and maybe even more so. NEGLIGENCE, sheer negligence…criminal. JUDGE GUNNELL, I applaud your decision to convict farm owners for so heinously allowing employees to abuse defenseless livestock, and am very grateful, but I implore you to consider strengthening sentences for the sake of a long overdue “message”, desperately needed, with respect to the entire industry… I implore you to consider a ruling with respect to these types of premises being monitored by video or CCTV, available to be publicly uploaded, when needed, and a set of protections built in for workers that might wish to complain or come forward with respect to abuse or maltreatment. Let’s restore the decency that was always meant to be…

  15. obviously KICKING, BEATING, PULLING HAIR/FINGERNAILS OUT, HANGING & DRAGGING >>> THE WORKERS SHOULD BE A-OK since it seems they are only ill-trained.

    LETS KICK, BEAT, HANG, DRAG THESE WORKERS, THEIR FAMILIES & KIDS SINCE THIS IS ACCEPTABLE TO THEM!!

  16. Bev Woodburn says:

    The decision to convict Chilliwack’s owners of animal abuse was the right choice, and it can help prevent future employees from abusing cows on their farm. Thank you for standing up for the dairy cows who faced unfathomable cruelty.
    Thank you! thank you! for standing up for the innocent and helpless dairy cows who were tortured by these pyscho degenerates.
    I would have the animal torturing psychos put to death.
    Animal torture and suffering committed against the innocent by the lowlife human animal torturing species is the vilest of cruelties Worldwide.
    Eradication of all animal torturers and abusers is the answer.
    If this was the case these animal torturing psychopathic degenerate monsters would think twice before there heinous sadism and evilness was committed against the innocent.

  17. Farm owner fined and prohibited from having control over his factory farm or owning any animals for a year.

    The `punishment` is PATHETIC!!

    The cows suffered SIGNIFICANT ABUSE by being BEATEN, KICKED and by HANGING THEM FROM CHAINS AROUND THEIR NECKS….Do the same to the abusers then maybe they won`t want do it again

  18. Lisa Zarafonetis says:

    Signed & shared❗?

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