Dairy Worker Seen Striking Cow with a Wrench in ABC News Reports Suspended From Job

Feb. 19, 2010 — -- A dairy worker seen on video in exclusive ABC News reports striking a cow with a wrench has been suspended from his job at an upstate New York dairy.

Lyndon Odell, CEO of Willet Dairy, confirmed that Phil Niles was suspended from his job on Jan. 28, two days after the ABC News reports aired. "He had not worked since that date," said Odell.

Animal rights groups, however, say that suspension is not enough, and that Niles should be fired and brought up on criminal charges.

"This employee should be fired, prohibited from working around animals, referred for psychiatric evaluation, and criminally prosecuted for abusing animals," said Nathan Runkle of the advocacy group Mercy for Animals, whose undercover investigator filmed Niles striking the cow at Willet, one of New York's largest dairies.

"This action is too little, too late and fails to address larger underlying issues of animal cruelty at Willet Dairy."

Video shot by the undercover investigator shows sick animals, cows being dragged, workers kicking and hitting animals, and tails and horns being removed without anesthesia. Portions of the video were broadcast on World News and Nightline, and also published on the Blotter.

Temple Grandin, a professor of animal husbandry at Colorado State University and an internationally recognized expert on the handling of livestock, told ABC News after reviewing the tape that Niles was "the kind of guy that ought to be fired."

"One thing I've learned over the many years working with animals," said Grandin, "is that there are certain people that enjoy hurting animals and they should not be working on dairies. They need to be fired."

Repeated attempts to reach Niles for comment were unsuccessful.

Odell, who told ABC News that Willet Dairy has a history of firing employees who mistreat animals, said the final determination on whether Niles would be fired would hinge on the outcome of an ongoing SPCA investigation of the farm. The SPCA is investigating on behalf of the Cayuga County District Attorney, following a complaint that Mercy for Animals filed against Willet Dairy based on the undercover video.