Animal rights activist Taylor Radig is facing charges of animal negligence after participating in an undercover investigation into the treatment of calves at the Quanah Cattle Company. Radig posed as an independent contractor for Compassion Over Killing at the cattle company, where she videotaped cattle workers manhandling newborn calves- some still had their umbilical chords attached- dragging them by their ears, tails, and legs. Radig was charged due to a dispute over the time it took her to submit her findings to the authorities.
Raw Story quotes Sheriff John B. Cooke in a statement regarding the incident, “Radig’s failure to report the alleged abuse of the animals in a timely manner adheres to the definition of acting with negligence and substantiates the charge.” Radig is also believed to have participated in the abuse she documented.
The investigation lasted from mid-July of 2013 to the end of September.
Three have been charged with counts of animal abuse from the Quanah Cattle Company: Thomas Cerda (33), Larry Loma (32), and Ernesto Daniel Valenzuela-Alvarez (34) will face fines of $500-$5,000, in addition to the possibility of six to 18 months of jail time. The Quanah Cattle Co. has fired all three workers.
Compassion Over Killing executive Erica Meier expressed outrage against Radig's charge saying “This shoot-the-messenger strategy is aimed at detracting attention away from the crimes of those who actually abused animals,” according to The Aurora Sentinel .