A recent Huffington Post article discusses a new study that observed consumers before and after a visit to a Canadian dairy farm.





During the study by the University of British Columbia, 50 members of the public toured a dairy farm considered "good" by industry standards. Participants took surveys about their perceptions of animal welfare on the farm before and after the tour. The results were frightening.





Only 12 of the participants indicated an improved perception of the dairy industry. The majority was either more critical or experienced no change in perception. "[I]t would seem that the farm visit did not result in an overall increase in confidence, as would have been predicted by the knowledge deficit model of public understanding," concluded the researchers.





In short, what people saw scared them and did not make them feel better about factory farming and its cruel practices. Participants were most upset about the lack of access to pasture and the separation of calves from their mothers.





The study comes after a recent shakeup of the Canadian dairy industry. An article by the Vancouver Sun revealed that more than one in four British Columbian dairy farms failed to comply with animal welfare codes over an 18-month period.





Additionally, the country’s largest dairy is to plead guilty to animal cruelty charges in December following a Mercy For Animals undercover investigation. Graphic hidden-camera footage shows employees gleefully poking and squeezing festering wounds, ripping clumps of hair out of cows’ sensitive tails, and punching bulls in the testicles.





Watch.









Factory farming is ruthless and depressing. Animals are deprived of everything natural to them, families are torn apart, conditions are grim and filthy, and in the end the animals are always killed.



