On September 24, 2010, Billy Joe Gregg, Jr., a worker at Conklin Dairy Farms caught on hidden camera during a Mercy For Animals investigation maliciously abusing cows and calves, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.
Gregg was sentenced to eight months in jail, ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, and is barred from contact with animals for three years. Gregg must also receive counseling through a program that specializes in treating individuals involved in animal abuse cases.
Gregg's arrest and conviction stem from chilling undercover footage recorded during a Mercy For Animals investigation earlier this year at Conklin Dairy Farms in Plain City, Ohio.
During a four-week investigation in April and May, MFA's investigator documented farm workers:
- Violently punching young calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears
- Routinely using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach
- Kicking "downed" cows (those too injured to stand) in the face and neck – abuse carried out and encouraged by the farm's owner
- Maliciously beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars – some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head
- Twisting cows' tails until the bones snapped
- Punching cows' udders
- Bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting, breaking bones, and beating cows and calves to death
After viewing the footage, Dr. Bernard Rollin, Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, stated: ""This is probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen. The video depicts calculated, deliberate cruelty, based not on momentary rage but on taking pleasure through causing pain to cows and calves who are defenseless.""
Sadly, cruelty to farmed animals in Ohio – no matter how egregious – is classified as a mere misdemeanor. Ohio has some of the weakest animal protection laws in the nation – ranking 43rd out of all 50 states. Further, no federal laws provide protection for farmed animals during their lives on the farm. Such inadequate state laws and the absence of federal laws lead to rampant abuse.
