UPDATE: Search for Suspects in Fair Oaks Farm Investigation
Charges have been filed by the Newton County Indiana Sheriff's office for alleged animal cruelty at Fair Oaks Farms. The case was opened following the release of a video by Animal Recovery Mission that shows workers at the farm kicking and throwing young calves.
In a release, the Newton County Sheriff says that as a result of the investigation into the alleged animal cruelty at Fair Oaks Farms, misdemeanor charges have been filed on three individuals for the beating of a vertebrate animal.
UPDATE: Investigators are looking for the following people: 31-year old Santiago Contreros, 36-year-old Edgar Vazquez, and 38-year old Miguel Navarro Serrano.
Sheriff Thomas VanVleet also says they continue to conduct interviews with other persons of interest in the case.
Fair Oaks Farms owners Mike McCloskey, continuing to discuss the video on the company's Facebook page. He says they have begun the search for a person who specializes in animal welfare to work at the farm and that person will be working with employees day in and day out.
The farm is also working to install cameras throughout the facility and adding third-party audits.
"These third-party audits will be frequent, random and unannounced, and when I say frequent I mean between two to four weeks on each farm, so at least twelve random audits by a third party every year," says McCloskey. "I believe the combination of the employee who is going to be full-time, dedicated to animal welfare, and these two monitoring sections will allow me to keep my promise to you."
Fair Oaks Farms is the flagship farm for Fairlife, a national brand of higher protein, higher calcium and lower fat milk. At least three retailers have since stopped selling Fairlife products since the video was released.
Related Stories:
- Retailers Pull Fairlife
- Undercover Video Shows Abuse at Fair Oaks Farms
- I Drink Fairlife and I Feel Good About It