Drone Video Shows Animal Abuse at Dairy Behind Pizza Hut, Domino's Cheese
For immediate release
Contact: Cassie King, (510) 507-8075, cassie@directactioneverywhere.com
Drone Video Shows Animal Abuse at Dairy Behind Pizza Hut, Domino's Cheese
Workers kicked newborn calves in the face at Philip Verwey Dairy, largest dairy in Calif.
Photos & Videos from the Investigation
(Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)
September 21, 2026, Hanford, CA - Workers at California's largest dairy operation were recorded hitting and kicking young calves in the face in July. The footage, obtained via drone by factory farm investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) at Philip Verwey Dairy in Hanford, shows workers aggressively loading and unloading calves by striking them, pushing them out of trailer beds, pulling them by their ears, and twisting their tails, as well as numerous instances of workers kicking calves. In another part of the facility, footage shows a worker whipping adult cows to move them toward the milking barn.
The footage was published today at FactoryFarmWatch.org, a map and database of California’s 1300+ large, industrial animal farms. The map lists animal count, greenhouse gas emissions, and supply chain information, where available, for each factory farm.
Philip Verwey Dairy supplies milk directly to Leprino Foods, which controls up to 85% of the U.S. pizza cheese market. Leprino's customers include Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caesars and Papa John’s. Philip Verwey Dairy also supplies to Dairy Farmers of America, which sells under brands including Alta Dena Dairy, Dairy Pure, Sport Shake and TruMoo, and also supplies to Nestle.
DxE asserts the video depicts violations of industry guidelines for calf care. The Calf Care & Quality Assurance (CCQA) program states, "Do not drag, pull, throw, or toss calves. Do not catch calves by the neck, ears, limbs, tail, or other extremities." It also states, “Remember, these are young animals and require extra patience as they learn to move.”
DxE also alleges the violent handling at Philip Verwey Dairy violates California’s animal cruelty statute. An attorney for DxE reported the calf abuse footage to the Kings County District Attorney's Office, but has received no notice of any investigation taking place.
"We reported this horrendous abuse to Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker, but she's unfortunately thus far declined to take any enforcement action to stop it," said Jonathan Frohnmayer, an attorney for DxE. "She has repeatedly dismissed animal cruelty complaints, including at Grimmius Cattle Company and Vera Goat Dairy."
The California dairy industry is incredibly powerful, as the state’s largest agricultural sector, contributing over $23 billion to the state GDP annually. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has multiple boards dedicated to boosting dairy consumption and shaping public perception of dairy. They have worked with the industry to run multi-million-dollar marketing programs, such as California’s iconic ‘Got Milk?’ campaign and “Happy Cows Come from California.” This state-backed marketing misleads consumers with bucolic imagery of “family farms,” while DxE investigations are uncovering the reality of widespread cruelty behind California milk.
Philip Verwey Farms operates several large dairies. The dairy where this footage was obtained confines approximately 12,000 milking-age cows and 7,500 pre-milking-age cows, making it the largest dairy in California. It is 30 times as large as the average U.S. dairy farm (397 milking-age cows based on USDA data). Yet, it is still marketed as "a family farm."
This is the seventh calf ranch that DxE drone investigators have exposed abusing calves this year. In May, the Los Angeles Times reported on DxE’s footage of workers kicking calves and pulling them by their tails at Agresti Calf Ranch in Ceres, after which one worker was fired. DxE says firing individual workers doesn't stop the problem because animal cruelty is a predictable outcome of how these operations are designed. A small number of workers are tasked with moving and managing thousands of vulnerable animals in the quickest, most cost-efficient way possible. DxE is calling on state leaders to ensure factory farms are held accountable for animal cruelty.
"California dairy marketing sells you grassy fields and happy cows, but our drone footage is revealing the truth," said DxE Lead Organizer Almira Tanner. "Mother cows are whipped and treated like machines, while their babies suffer alone in tiny crates. The industry spends millions marketing a lie because it knows you would be outraged by the truth."
In response to DxE's work exposing animal cruelty via drone, cattle operations are seeking to limit drone flights overhead. The Intercept reported earlier this month that California's largest calf-raising operation, Grimmius Cattle Co., reported a federally licensed DxE drone pilot to the Federal Aviation Administration after DxE documented calf abuse at their Kings and Tulare facilities. It is unknown what specifically Grimmius alleged in its complaint. DxE drone pilots operate in full compliance with federal aviation laws.
Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) investigates farms, slaughterhouses, and other facilities to document abuses and rescue sick and injured animals. DxE’s investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times, WIRED, and Vox. In 2022, DxE activists won the first-ever acquittal in an open rescue case. Visit DxE on Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and at directactioneverywhere.com.
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