Translation of above text: An excerpt from a biased article in late 2016 about the adequacy of the conditions in the live transports (since then, countless horrors have been documented, all of which turn out to be adequate):
“The issue of animal cruelty is very important to the Ministry of Agriculture and to me personally,” Uri Ariel clarified. “We decided to conduct a surprise inspection of a shipment of calves arriving in Israel, in order to see the reality up close. The conditions on the ship were adequate.”
According to him, the professionals in veterinary services are doing a sacred job to reduce harm to animals, “We are constantly examining new ways to see what else can be done to reduce harm to animals imported into Israel.”
“Animal cruelty is a well-known prohibition in Judaism, an example of which is the rule ‘You shall not muzzle an ox,’ which was already written in the Torah thousands of years ago. Judaism taught humanity not to harm animals, and we as a country see this as a moral and professional obligation,” emphasized the Minister of Agriculture.
In February, 2025, Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) exposed rampant animal cruelty and environmental violations at Butterfield Dairy and Rainbow Valley Dairy – two major suppliers of Coca-Cola’s fairlife milk outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Despite fairlife’s claims of humane sourcing, ARM’s investigation proves the corporation’s complicity in severe abuse.
Undercover Investigation Reveals Brutal Cruelty Between July and December 2024, ARM operatives infiltrated these dairies as employees, capturing disturbing footage of:
Calves violently separated from their mothers, confined in tiny wooden crates, and subjected to relentless abuse by workers and managers.
Workers punched, kicked, whipped, and dragged calves by their ears, tails, and legs, resulting in fractures, internal injuries, and painful deaths.
Calves denied food, water, and medical care, left to suffer from fatal infections.
In 135°F heat, calves collapsed from dehydration and exhaustion, left to die in filthy conditions.
At Butterfield Dairy, workers rough-housed confused newborn calves and shoved feeding tubes down their throats, leading to fatal internal injuries and trauma. Their carcasses were left scattered across the property or sent to a methane plant for fuel.
At Rainbow Valley Dairy, pregnant cows endured continual beatings, their tails broken, and electric prods used to force compliance. Managers botched euthanasia procedures, shooting cows in the neck and leaving them to suffer prolonged, agonizing deaths.
Environmental Infractions & Worker Misconduct
Illegal disposal of animal carcasses threatens wildlife and contaminates local water sources.
Leaking waste pits pose a serious risk to the environment and public drinking water.
Rainbow Valley employees were documented operating heavy machinery under the influence of alcohol and illicit drugs, endangering both animals and public safety.
A Pattern of Abuse: The DeJong Family & Fairlife’s Broken Promises Both dairies are owned and operated by the DeJong family. ARM’s 2019 dairy expose at Natural Prairie Dairy and Fair Oaks Farms exposed similar horrors, revealing Coca-Cola and fairlife’s direct ties to industrialized animal cruelty.
In response to public outrage, Coca-Cola pledged over $40 million in animal welfare reforms, promising audits, employee training, and video monitoring. However, ARM’s latest findings prove these measures were nothing more than corporate deception—systemic abuse persists.
Take Action: Demand Accountability ARM demands immediate arrests of dairy owners, managers, and employees. All calves must be removed from inhumane enclosures. Coca-Cola and fairlife executives must be held accountable for their role in enabling this cruelty and for this ongoing atrocity.
Consumers have the power to demand real change. Boycott fairlife and Coca-Cola’s cruelty-ridden products and expose corporate lies.
Update:
The Maricopa Sheriff’s Office and the USDA are currently conducting their own investigations for arrests and accountability.
Fairlife has stated it has cut ties with the Rainbow Valley and Butterfield Dairy, however ARM will monitor this to ensure this continues.
A civil action lawsuit has been filed against fairlife, Click to view.
We will update this page once this investigation develops and arrests are made.
In 2024, Animal Equality found major violations in São Paulo slaughterhouses, where cows and chickens were mistreated under Brazil’s Self-Control Law.
In 2022, an earlier investigation revealed cruelty at pig and cow slaughterhouses in Minas Gerais and Pará, warning about the dangers of the Self-Control Bill.
Workers were seen twisting animals’ tails, kicking them, and using electric shocks on sensitive areas like the head and genitals.
Some animals were skinned and dismembered while still alive.
These findings point to a global problem as U.S. slaughterhouses speed up production lines, increasing risks for animal cruelty.
Animal Equality’s investigation reveals the impact of Brazil’s 2022 Self-Control Law, which reduced government oversight of slaughterhouses. The findings uncover rampant cruelty and violations, with profits prioritized over animals, public health, and transparency.
The latest investigation, featuring never-before-seen footage, uncovers significant failures in cow and chicken slaughterhouses in rural São Paulo.
These facilities were already following a state-level version of the Self-Control Law before it was implemented across the country. Investigators found widespread violations of handling and slaughter rules set by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
2022 investigation: Early warnings ignored
In 2022, Animal Equality issued an urgent warning about the risks of the Self-Control Bill. Investigating pig and cow slaughterhouses in the states of Minas Gerais and Pará, the team uncovered a critical shortage of government inspectors.
Without proper oversight, workers were left to enforce safety and animal protection rules on their own, resulting in widespread violations. Despite these findings, the bill became law.
Between the 2022 and 2024 investigations, Animal Equality documented:
Intentional cruelty:
Tail twisting and kicking animals in the face.
Use of high-frequency electric shocks on prohibited areas, including the head, tail, genitals, and anus.
Stunning failures:
Animals were tied with ropes instead of being secured in proper stunning boxes, making effective stunning nearly impossible.
Captive bolt pistols were used incorrectly, leading to failed attempts to stun animals.
Broken stunning tools were not fixed, forcing some animals to endure up to seven failed stunning attempts.
No staff were assigned to ensure stunning was effective. When animals showed signs of consciousness–such as eye movement or lifting their heads–workers often did not repeat the stunning unless the animal became too agitated to manage.
Delayed slaughter:
Stunned animals were left for over two minutes before slaughter, exceeding legal limits meant to prevent them from regaining consciousness:
Non-penetrating captive bolt pistols deliver a blunt impact to the head, causing a concussion without breaking the skull. Animals must be slaughtered within 30 seconds, as this method loses effectiveness quickly.
Penetrating captive bolt pistols use a bolt to penetrate the skull, causing deeper and longer-lasting unconsciousness. This method allows up to 60 seconds before slaughter must take place.
Delays beyond these limits caused animals to regain consciousness, leading to extreme suffering.
Mutilations while conscious:
Workers did not wait the required three minutes after slaughter to ensure animals were dead before mutilating them. This resulted in animals being skinned and dismembered while alive.
Poor facility conditions:
Overcrowded pens with more animals than recommended.
Animals left in extreme heat without shade or water.
Two transport vehicles carrying heavily pregnant heifers left Germany on September 12 and reached the Turkish border at Kapikule four days later, on September 16, where they were held for a month. The German authorities were aware of the acute emergency situation since September 23 but did not intervene. Between September 23 and October 2, the animals were briefly unloaded, provided with water and feed, and housed in a makeshift shelter. On October 2, they were loaded back onto the transport vehicles. The exact reasons for this decision remain unclear. However, there are rumors that unsanitary conditions, intense odors, and a fly infestation prompted this action. The German authorities took action when the animals were reloaded onto the trucks, but the measures taken were completely inadequate.
The conditions for the animals on the transports deteriorated with each passing day. Although they were fed and watered, the care provided was insufficient due to their advanced stages of pregnancy. Moreover, the transport vehicles were not cleaned, causing the cows to stand ankle-deep in their own excrement. During this time, and under these appalling conditions, several calves were born, none of which had a chance of survival. The first report of a dead animal was received on October 6.
On October 11, the state of Brandenburg, from which the animals originally came, issued a euthanasia order that mandated the slaughter of the cows by October 13. On the evening of October 14, the animals were transported to a slaughterhouse near the border in Edirne. Many heifers and newborn calves had already died on the transport vehicles. On October 15, the animals were slaughtered without anesthesia. The calves suffocated painfully inside their dying mothers. There is a much more humane method of euthanasia called placentally accessible euthanasia, which allows the unborn calves to be euthanized alongside their mothers.
The bodies of those animals that had already died before arriving at the slaughterhouse were left on the trucks to be dumped in a landfill later. As the teams from Animals’ Angels and Animal Welfare Foundation left the slaughterhouse, they were alerted by the loud mooing of an animal that had been left alive on the truck, which was now to be unloaded alongside the dead animals. We were able to arrange for an emergency slaughter of the animal on-site.
Urgent Call for a Transport Ban
Since 2010, Animals’ Angels and the Animal Welfare Foundation have called for an immediate end to animal transports to Turkey. The conditions at the Turkish border of Kapikule and the cruel death of the animals once again demonstrate that these transports are incompatible with animal welfare requirements, as stated in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005: “No one shall carry out or arrange for the transport of animals if it is likely to cause them injury or unnecessary suffering.”
This case starkly highlights the urgent need for an immediate halt to such exports.
We will continue to remain on-site and work with a Turkish lawyer to initiate legal action. We demand clear and enforceable measures from the German government and the European Union to end the suffering of these animals.
VIDEO in German (from German TV Programme, “37 Grad”)
Animal Equality Mexico’s investigation revealed the cruel treatment and slaughter of lambs and sheep in illegal slaughterhouses in states with high populations of these animals.
November 5, 2019 Updated: February 22, 2024
Animal Equality in Mexico has released its second investigation of 2019, focusing on the country’s illegal slaughterhouses and bringing to light the cruel treatment and slaughter of lambs and sheep within states that have the largest number of these animals in the country.
Released through the renowned news outlet Aristegui Noticias, Animal Equality investigators documented the horrible killings of lambs and sheep in backyard pens and underground slaughterhouses in the States of Hidalgo and Mexico, where the animals were destined to be used for the popular barbecue dish Barbacoa de Borrego. Our footage shows the brutality with which these sensitive animals are killed, and documented:
Animals dragged by their limbs and violently slaughtered
Lambs are fully conscious as they are tied up and decapitated
Workers violently transporting lambs
Workers killing more than three lambs at the same time, one next to the other
Minors witnessing the killings and, in some cases, carrying out the slaughter of the animals
The animals were mortally injured and left to bleed to death.
No veterinarian present
Through the evidence our team gathered, the investigation documents numerous violations of Mexican Official Standards and reveals systematic violence in the handling of animals killed for Barbacoa de Borrego. The footage also shows the failure to abide by the methods of animal slaughter set forth by the government, as well as the guidelines for humane treatment during the animals’ transport.
In response, we have launched a petition to demand that Mexican officials act on our complaints, while also asking lawmakers to strengthen penalties and consider the non‑compliance of welfare standards in the country an animal cruelty crime. We have also filed a complaint with Mexican authorities. We will continue to encourage legislation in Mexico so that these acts are considered punishable crimes of animal cruelty, as we have previously done with Jalisco State Reform.
To ensure this cruelty becomes a thing of the past, please join us in leaving animals off your plate. Plant‑based options replacing animal products are readily available, taste great, and ensure living beings are not suffering for your meal. Sharing this post can help us spread the word about these terrible abuses.
World Animals Voice 