Sonja Meadows

 

During investigations it is always excruciating to witness the suffering of an animal. It is however, made all the more heartbreaking to witness the callous disregard for this suffering, such as we were faced with at the Escalon auction in California. Tacoma, as she has come to be known by us, was a "used up"dairy cow dropped off at the entrance to the Escalon auction pens, never making it past the gate. She was what is euphemistically referred to as a "downer" in industry circles - meaning an animal that is incapable of standing or moving on its own.

 

 

With open wounds, and distended udder she spent her final day lying in 110°Fahrenheit under the California sun, trampled by other cows as they were unloaded into the auction, pushed, electrically prodded, and incapable of standing, though she did try, no matter what form of abuse she was subjected to. When Animals'  Angels brought Tacoma's condition to the attention of the auction manager, he disregarded our concerns saying that there was still some good meat on her, and she would be dragged out back and killed at the end of day.

 

According to California law, which was ironically posted at the front entrance of the auction, all non-ambulatory animals must be euthanized immediately. Any forced movement of non-ambulatory animals is prohibited.

In fact, this legislation was recently strengthened significantly, when Governour Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2098 into law, which will allow prosecutors to file criminal charges against offenders. The penalty for a violation of this bill is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine up to $20,000 or both.

AB 2098 came as a direct response to the footage collected in Chino, California of the brutal treatment of dairy cows at the Hallmark/Westland slaughter facility, sparking the largest beef recall in US history.  Given the magnitude of this recent scandal, we were shocked when even the local police department dismissed our investigation.

 While we might hope that the plight of the dairy cow in California may see better protection now that Assembyl Bill 2098 has been signed into law, without an effective system of enforcement the legislation is impotent.

We were there with Tacoma, and will always remember her final hours, but how many animals must endure this treatment, and ultimately suffer alone? Animals' Angels will continue to seek justice for Tacoma by bringing our case to both the Governor and the District Attorney. We can only hope that in doing so, others like her may be offered protection from cruelty through enforcement of the laws in place.