School children from the Skinner Road Elementary School in Vernon, watch as some of the 3,000 cows get milked on a moving carousel at the Oakridge Dairy Farm on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Ellington. Jim Michaud / Hearst Connecticut Media
Some of the 3,000 cows get milked on a moving carousel at the Oakridge Dairy Farm on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Ellington. Jim Michaud / Hearst Connecticut Media
The new gas energy facility at the Oakridge Dairy Farm on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Ellington. Jim Michaud / Hearst Connecticut Media
A national animal rights group is asking an Ellington dairy to stop calling its cows “happy” in its advertising and is alleging that the farm’s 3,000 cows are kept in confined conditions that worsen stress and health issues.
“Cows who suffer at Oakridge Dairy’s farm are anything but ‘happy,’” said Mary Maerz, senior council for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in a letter to the dairy released Tuesday morning. The letter asks the dairy to stop using "misleading marketing claims."
Oakridge, in a statement from its CEO and an interview, stands by the care of its cows. Brie Hyde, farm compliance and food safety manager at the dairy, said she is confident that Oakridge’s animals are comfortable and that the dairy’s 65 employees are working to create the best environment for them.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“My job at Oak Ridge is to believe that I am doing the very best that I can for the animals that we’re providing for,” Hyde said. “How is PETA saying that these cows are unhappy?”
Oakridge Dairy, a fifth-generation business at 76 Jobs Hill Road in Ellington, has expanded its subscription Modern Milkman service across the state in the past year, in which its milk and other products are delivered to customer’s doors. The largest dairy farm in the Northeast that supplies 18% of Connecticut's milk, Oakridge also partners with a renewable energy company on a project that turns cow manure into methane that can be used as a power source.
It’s that renewable energy project at Oakridge that is the focus of PETA’s concern, said PETA Associate Director Colin Henstock.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
To collect all of the cows’ manure for methane production, the animals must be kept in a concrete-floored shed all day, which Hyde confirmed. About 40 dairies nationwide also collect manure for methane generation under similar conditions, Henstock said.
“They all rely on cows being forced to remain indoors on hard surfaces and deprived of any chance to take a walk in the fresh air and feel soft grass,” Henstock said. “The cows at Oakridge are confined indoors and are forced to lie on their own dried manure, which the dairy shockingly refers to as quote-unquote posh living quarters.”
Hyde said bedding in the barn, made up of processed solids from the manure operation, is dry and clean, and veterinarians on staff monitor each animal for health issues. Special care is taken to make sure the cows don’t have overgrown hooves or leg injuries, she added.
“At Oakridge, I would say one of the top priorities is cow comfort,” Hyde said.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Each of the cows is fitted with a tracker similar to a Fitbit that measures heart rate, food consumption and weight.
“We’re walking the pens constantly to make sure that nobody is having any issues,” Hyde said. “I think in a barn this size, we do a very, very good job at monitoring lameness and hocks (ankles) and feet.”
PETA started looking into Oakridge after receiving a tip this spring and visited the dairy as part of a public tour over the summer. Language used in marketing materials for the Modern Milkman mentioning “happy cows” was contradicted by conditions visitors said they observed at the farm, Henstock said.
“That's certainly a part of our mission here, to bring awareness to the situation for these cows, but to also specifically call out this company for their claims,” he said.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
PETA’s Oakridge action is part of a larger effort to persuade Americans to give up dairy and opt for plant milks and other products that minimize animal suffering, Henstock said.
“The dairy industry, in and of itself, relies upon exploiting animals,” Henstock said. “Really, no dairy cows in the dairy industry have a good life.”
Oakridge CEO Seth Bahler, a fifth-generation of the family that founded the dairy, said care for the cows is the business' top priority.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
"Every decision we make comes from a place of love and respect for our animals, our environment and the people who rely on us to provide safe, healthy and nutritious food," Bahler said in a statement. "While we respect differing viewpoints, we believe that the groups targeting us may not fully understand the love, dedication and expertise that go into running a farm like ours."
About
Contact
Services
Account
Français 
English