A cow stands in front of a soccer goalpost in a field in Monickendam
A cow stands in front of a soccer goalpost in a field in Monnickendam June 4, 2014. The 2014 Brazil World Cup opens on June 12 and fans around the globe are gearing up for the big tournament. But soccer lovers are not only preparing to watch the world's best professional players battle it out on the pitch; they are also out there kicking a ball about themselves. Reuters photographers on every continent, in countries from China to the Czech Republic, went out to capture images of soccer goalposts used by players to practise the 'beautiful game'. Picture taken June 4, 2014. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

Canadian dairy companies may have to face consumer boycotts if they do not take any action against animal cruelty. The demands of boycotting dairy companies were fuelled after a hidden-camera video revealed "workers viciously kicking, punching, beating, and hitting cows in the face and body with chains, canes, metal pipes, and rakes" at a dairy in British Columbia.

The video was earlier released by Mercy for Animals Canada. The video showed workers beating and kicking dairy cows at Chilliwack Cattle Company. Thereafter, a petition was launched on Change.org to ask dairy companies to voice their opinion against the farm, CTV News reported. The petition specifically urges people to ask Montreal-based Canadian dairy company Saputo to "Stop Supporting Horrific Animal Cruelty." Saputo is the largest airy company in Canada.

According to the petition, "Saputo has the power and the ethical responsibility to help end some of the worst forms of animal cruelty in the dairy industry." The petition refers to the MFA Canada video which revealed "sick and injured cows suffering from open wounds, oozing infections, and painful injuries left to suffer without proper veterinary care." It also shows "workers using chains and tractors to lift sick and injured cows by their necks" and "workers poking and squeezing festering wounds, ripping clumps of hair out of cows' sensitive tails, and punching bulls in the testicles."

With 150,000 signs required to make the petition successful, there are already more than 94,000 people who signed for the petition, when last checked. According to the petition, Saputo is asked to ensure the following:

  • Zero tolerance for animal abuse
  • Proper care and treatment of sick, injured, and downed animals
  • Video monitoring systems streamed live onto the Internet to help prevent abuse

Meanwhile, Saputo earlier released a statement which said that it was "outraged" to know about the animal abuse. It said that it would support the investigation against the farm. The company, on the other hand, said that it would not be possible not to accept milk from a specific farm as it was impossible to know where the milk was coming from. The company is supposed to buy the milk through the BC Milk Marketing Board, according to the provincial legislation.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au