As recent, unprecedented events impact the lives of people around the world, Animals' Angels continues to actively support the growing movement toward a more compassionate, humane, and sustainable way of life for all, and we remain passionately committed to advocating for lasting, positive changes in the lives of the precious animals that share our planet.

Animals' Angels investigators were thus saddened and disappointed to witness the ongoing suffering of the animals at the Escalon Livestock Auction in California during a recent three-day investigation. In spite of the auction's previous agreement to improve the treatment of animals at their sale, it was clear to our investigators that the auction has made no such improvements, and that the conditions remain poor.

Downer cow left to bake in the sun

Arriving at the auction on a mild, sunny day, our investigators saw few people wearing masks, despite the ongoing pandemic. The bird and rabbit sale was busy, with chickens, roosters, pheasants, geese, ducks, and rabbits held in filthy cages covered in feces left over from prior sales.

Our investigators were dismayed to see that these caged animals had no access to water, and that the rabbits were placed directly on the bare wire of the cages with no boards to sit on. Once sold, they were dumped in bags and thrown into car trunks.

Inside the main barn, dairy cows considered to be "spent" because of declining milk production or other health issues were to be auctioned off as "butcher" cows intended for slaughter. Many of the poor animals were severely emaciated; ribs and spines were prominently visible as they l imped and struggled their way through the alley.

"Butcher" Cows before entering auction ring

Some cows were dragging large udders, bursting with milk because their former owners hadn't bothered to milk them before shipping them off to the sale. Each cow had the letters "BF" painted onto their bony hips to mark them as "beef." Our investigators were stricken by the pitiful sight as the poor cows drank from the only water available in the pen: filthy puddles of rainwater, feces, and urine.

Their ordeal continued as auction workers moved the cows into the ring by slamming gates on them and prodding and poking them without mercy. The first day of the Animals' Angel's investigation ended as the terrorized animals were roughly loaded onto a double-deck trailer and shipped off to slaughter.

Thirsty cow drinking puddle of rainwater, urine and feces

Our team focused their observations on the auction's outside pen area and the back of the property, which had been used in the past to discard dying cows. These "downer" cows are supposed to be protected from inhumane treatment under California law, but nevertheless our investigators had documented flagrant violations of the law on multiple previous occasions.

Animals' Angels documentation convinced the Sheriff to launch an official investigation, but the San Joaquin District Attorney ultimately decided not to prosecute the auction on cruelty charges. The district attorney claimed Escalon Livestock Auction had agreed to implement a new set of guidelines and had promised to improve the treatment of animals at the sale.

Sadly, our investigators saw firsthand that the auction failed to live up to their agreement as they observed several dead, bloated animals in a pile, along with a pitiful cow who had been dumped next to the pile. The poor animal stood motionless, foaming from the mouth, too weak to move. When a worker on a bobcat arrived and started to push the terrified animal forward with a fork attachment, the cow was in complete distress as the bobcat fork poked her in a heartless attempt to move her along. (video documentation available)

"Slow" cow moved forward with forks of bobcat

When our investigators returned for the final day of the investigation, hundreds of goats were being roughly unloaded into the pen area, and workers were throwing smaller goats off the trucks onto their backs like they were feedbags instead of living beings. Injured goats limped toward the unsegregated pens, and our Investigators witnessed a small, injured female goat being chased by a larger male goat, who mounted her before leaving her dazed and motionless in the corner.

The "butcher" cows were again in appalling condition. One cow was profusely bleeding from an injured foot, while another cow died in the pen area before being moved by the bobcat to the dead pile. Buyer number 402 purchased most of the cows that appeared to be in the worst condition, and our investigators saw that the miserable animals were locked together in a pen with no access to water.

CONCLUSION

The Animals' Angel's team left the auction filled with disappointment, outrage, and sorrow to see that conditions still had not improved. After years of reports by Animals' Angels to local law enforcement and meetings with the Sheriff, the Farm Bureau, and the Livestock Marketing Association, all the promises made by the Escalon Auction were short-lived, and ultimately broken.