DiGiorno Dairy Supplier Drops Farm Accused Of Animal Abuse (VIDEO)

WATCH: Graphic Footage Of Animal Abuse At DiGiorno Supplier Farm

It's not delivery, it's dairy farm abuse.

That's the allegation being made by animal rights group Mercy for Animals, which today released undercover video it says was shot at a Wisconsin farm that has supplied popular frozen pizza brand DiGiorno with dairy products.

The graphic video, which the group says was shot in October, shows workers at the Wiese Brothers Farm outside Green Bay, Wis., beating, dragging and whipping cows. Some of the cows, which appear unable to walk, are dragged by the neck using tractors. Other cows appear to have infected or freely bleeding wounds.

Both Nestlé, the company that manufactures DiGiorno pizza, and its cheese supplier, Foremost Farms USA, denied any knowledge of abuse at the Wiese Brothers Farm and expressed sadness at the revelations.

“Nestlé is outraged and deeply saddened by the mistreatment of animals shown in this video,” Deborah Cross, a representative for Nestle’s pizza division, told ABC News in a statement. Cross told ABC that Nestlé had notified Foremost Farms USA that it would not accept any more cheese "made with milk from the Wiese Brothers Farm.”

Foremost Farms USA released its own statement expressing extreme disappointment at the allegations of mistreatment and pledging to discontinue any business affiliations with the farm.

On its website, SliceofCruelty.com, Mercy for Animals quotes acclaimed animal welfare activist Dr. Temple Grandin as saying that the "dragging [of] live cows, and completely suspending them with the cow lift is severe animal abuse. The actions of these people went beyond rough handling and escalated to the level of cruelty. Kicking, beating, and hard whipping of downed cows is abusive."

Fellow Colorado State University animal science professors Dr. Bernard Rollin, Dr. Terry Engle and William Wailes also contributed a joint statement to the site, writing that after watching Mercy for Animal's footage, it was clear that the Weise Brother employees were "uncaring and sadistic individuals" guilty of " "horrifying and nightmarish abuses of dairy cattle."

"There's a culture of cruelty that was allowed to fester at this factory farm facility," Matt Rice, director of investigations at Mercy for Animals, told ABC News. "No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that beat, kick, mutilate and drag animals."

For its part, the Wiese family told NBC News in a statement that it had fired two employees after watching the video and removed a third employee from “animal handling” responsibilities.

Capt. David Konrath of the Brown County Sheriff’s Department told NBC that his department had also opened its own investigation into the allegations and will inform the prosecutor if authorities believe charges are warranted.

UPDATE: Feb. 13 - The district attorney confirmed to The Huffington Post that four workers have since been charged with 11 total counts of animal cruelty.

Before You Go

10. Alaska

10 Worst States For Animal Abuse Laws

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot