2 more workers charged with animal cruelty at Chilliwack Cattle Sales

Two more workers have been given a sentence following the animal cruelty investigation into the Chilliwack Cattle Sales (CCS) company.

On Wednesday, June 28th, former CCS employees, Cody Larson and Lloyd Blackwell, pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Larson was given 20 days in jail with a fine of $4,000.

He will be serving his sentence on weekends, starting Friday, June 30th.

He's also prohibited from owning large animals including pigs, cows, and horses in his custody for a year.

Blackwell was fined $7,000 and is prohibited from having large animals in his care for three years. Blackwell and Larson have two years to pay their fines.

"There is no excuse for animal abuse," said Krista Hiddema, Mercy For Animals' vice president for Canada. "The best way to address animal cruelty is to prevent it. We're asking all Canadian provinces to create a united front against abuse in the dairy industry. Cruelty and neglect will plague Canada's farms until the Dairy Code of Practice is given the force of law in every province."

The guilty pleas came after hidden cameras used by Mercy For Animals exposed the animal abuse that occurred at CCS.

The sentence came down from Honorable Justice Gary Cohen, who previously sentenced three former CCS workers to a combined total of 127 days in jail.

Blackwell and Larson are the sixth and seventh convictions that have come from Mercy For Animals' undercover video footage at CCS.

This case marked the first time in Canadian history that former factory farm workers had been sentenced to jail for animal abuse exposed through an undercover investigation by an animal protection organization.

On top of the seven convictions, one of the owners was also ordered to pay fines totaling $350,000 in December of 2016 for animal cruelty.