Drone footage shows animal cruelty at calf ranch in Ceres. Vigil to be held
Footage at the Clover Sonoma-supplying calf ranch in Ceres shows workers kicking a calf in the face, yanking a cow’s tail and pulling the nose of a cow forcefully with pliers.
The videos show two workers, one wearing a shirt depicting the Virgin Mary.
The footage was obtained in late February through a drone by factory farm investigators with Direct Action Everywhere at Agresti Calf Ranch. The group had previously documented and rescued two sick goats from a Meyenberg-supplying dairy in Stratford.
One video shows a calf being disbudded with hot irons before collapsing. Disbudding is the removal of horn buds to prevent horns from growing. Hot iron dehorning is the most popular method of disbudding calves, but industry guidelines recommend pain relievers.
According to the investigators, no workers were seen giving anesthetics to the calves before they were disbudded.
“The reality is that even at the supposed best of the best dairy companies, newborn animals are ripped away from their mothers, confined, mutilated and forced into submission through violence,” Almira Tanner, Direct Action Everywhere’s lead organizer, said in a press release. “That’s what the dairy industry is built on. They go to great lengths to mislead the public, but you can’t take the violence out of dairy.”
Agresti Calf Ranch raises calves for Double D Dairies, a supplier of milk to the dairy company Clover Sonoma.
“Animal welfare is at the core of our belief system,” Clover Sonoma Chief Executive Office Marcus Benedetti wrote in a post. The company was the first dairy to be American Humane Certified by the American Humane Association for its animal welfare program in 2000.
Clover Sonoma told the Los Angeles Times that it suspended business with Double D as soon as it became aware of the incidents and conducted an audit.
“Clover and the American Humane Society have concluded that the mistreatment was an isolated issue, not systemic or reflective of Agresti Calf Ranch’s personnel,” the company told The Times. “Corrections have been made, including the termination of the employee in the video. As such, we are comfortable reinstating the milk from Double D Dairy.”
On Feb. 27, an attorney with Direct Action Everywhere reported the alleged animal cruelty to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Animal Services, stating that it violates California’s animal cruelty statute.
Animal Services responded that it had coordinated with the “appropriate organizations to monitor what is happening.”
On April 23, an attorney representing Agresti sent Direct Action Everywhere members a cease-and-desist letter, threatening legal action if they did not cease “eavesdropping on my client’s facilities.”
“Employees are fearful of invasion of their privacy rights, and the cows are easily upset by the noise and unusual overhead flight patterns of the drones,” the letter reads.
On Saturday, May 16, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere plan to hold a peaceful vigil for the abused calves at Agresti Calf Ranch at 3 p.m. Activists will gather on public property by the calf ranch and call on authorities to take action to protect the animals.
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM.
