Animal Cruelty Arrest Made at Conklin Dairy Farm Near Plain City Ohio

Billy Joe Gregg Jr., employed at the Conklin Dairy Farm near Plain City, Ohio, was charged with 12 counts of cruelty to animals May 26, 2010 after an undercover video planted by the non-profit organization Mercy for Animals showed Gregg, as well as other workers, beating and punching dairy cows trapped in small metal enclosures.

The case is ongoing as investigators alerted to the acts of cruelty video-recorded between April 28 and May 23, 2010 continue to review the almost 20 hours of video and speak with members of the work crew numbering over 100 at the Conklin farm.

Gregg, 25, of Delaware, Ohio, could face penalties of 90 days in jail and fines of $750 for each count of animal cruelty.

Gary Conklin, of Conklin Dairy Cattle Sales LLC and manager of the Conklin farm factory for dairy animals, released a statement May 25, 2010 that condemned the video evidence of abuse, according to a report filed by the AP/Huffington Post written by Meghan Barr. "We will not condone animal abuse on our farm," Conklin said, in part, in his statement.

Gregg was fired on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Marysville sheriff's deputies were alerted to the firing and asked to provide security. When they arrived at the farm and inquired about the firing, they were advised of the video evidence of cruel treatment of the farm's dairy cows and calves.

The video shows horrific beatings of penned and tied animals with fists, crowbars, metal pipes, and pitchforks. Even baby calves have their heads stomped on by workers wearing boots.

Chief Deputy Tom Morgan, quoted in the May 26, 2010 Huffington Post report, said his office hadn't seen the YouTube video prior to Gregg's firing. Three, or more persons are shown beating animals in the Mercy for Animals tape, Morgan told reporters.

The Conklin Dairy Farm receives federal farm subsidies, the Huffington Post article reported. Nearly $36,000 is reported to have been granted to the farm since 1995. In 2009 alone, Conklin Farms received a $12,000 portion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those figures were gleaned from a farm subsidies database kept in file by the Environmental Working Group, according to the Huffington Post article.

Mercy for Animals is an anti-cruelty to animals group based in Chicago, Illinoise. It investigates potential violations of laws in regard to what is labeled "farm factory" animals such as dairy cows, chickens, and hogs, and it advocates a Vegan diet, which calls for non-consumption of products from the dairy, egg, and meat industries.

The Conklin Dairy Farm is a fourth-generation family farm. Mercy for Animals turned over its video evidence of Conklin's animal cruelty to the Marysville prosecutor's office before Gregg was fired.