It’s big news when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) releases one of their “caught on tape” videos of a farm with bad conditions, but does it still make news when PETA’s video misses the mark or unjustly makes a claim? Their latest was a two-blooper video.
In recent videos showing poor conditions on dairy and other livestock farms, the formula has been consistent: find a farm with bad conditions, link them to a regional or national name brand and get everyone talking about it. Tuesday’s video is one of the first “animal cruelty” videos that may have failed on both of the former counts, although there was again partial success in distribution, reports Drovers CattleNetwork.
The video targeted a Southeast grocery store chain, Harris Teeter, which is owned by national grocery giant Kroger. PETA tied a North Carolina dairy farm to a supplier for the grocery chain, but Teeter proved no milk from the farm was sent to its stores.
PETA also claimed cows at the farm were mistreated and described conditions as inappropriate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Animal Control found no evidence to support those claims, although some house-cleaning issues involving the removal of waste needed to be addressed. Wet weather had hampered the farmer’s ability to keep stalls and runways clear.
As last reported, Teeter intends to ask PETA to issue a retraction.