RSPCA slams violent attacks on cows at Cathedral City cheese farms
The RSPCA has condemned men’s violent attacks on cows at two dairy farms that supply milk for Cathedral City cheese as “completely unacceptable”.
An animal rights filmmaker secretly filmed workers stabbing animals with sharp objects, hitting them with metal brooms, punching, slapping, kicking and twisting their tails.
The company that produces Cathedral City cheese warned dairy farmers to watch out for strangers on their property and not talk to them after learning of the shootings.
In some cases, men were seen hitting cows with plastic pipes; On two occasions, they were seen inserting rods into the animals’ rectums to help them stand up.
Activists claimed the cows were controlled by “force and fear”.
Animal welfare officials are investigating farms in Cornwall and one farm was suspended after secret recordings were revealed, the government and the county council said.
Dairy Crest Limited, trading as Saputo Dairy UK, one of the UK’s largest dairy producers, suspended its supply to Polshea Farm in Bodmin for two weeks after seeing the footage.
A company spokesperson said: “We care deeply about the way our milk is produced and do not condone any form of animal cruelty. The images shared are disturbing and offend the values of our customers, consumers and employees.”
The Red Tractor farming assurance scheme said it had also suspended Polshea Farm.
Saputo’s website promises zero tolerance for cruelty and moves on to anger management training and CCTV after viewing the footage.
Filmmaker and animal rights activist Joey Carbstrong said he conducted inspections of Polshea Farm, a mega-dairy, in April this year after receiving footage from activists in 2022 showing workers slapping, punching, kicking and stabbing cows with sharp tools. An animal was punched in the face and beaten after being trapped in a milking carousel in a “frenzied attack”.
In the video, the cow is also seen being chased and “terrified”, while others are hit with iron rods.
Jenny L Mace, an adjunct lecturer in animal welfare at the University of Winchester, counted 64 cases of images she claimed were illegal.
This year’s images show Violence, including cows apparently too sick or exhausted to stand, being slapped and kicked to force them to stand up, and calves often being dragged by their legs when they were born.
Allegedly, the footage shows an injured cow being lifted with a tractor fork and a sharp tool being stuck into the cow’s back and side. Farm workers shouted angrily at the animals to scare them and force them to move.
Mr Carbstrong said he saw two dead animals left outside to rot.
In 2022, 40 cases of alleged illegal behavior were recorded at Trevear Farm in Penzance, including slapping, kicking and sometimes punching cows with pipes and plastic pipes also used in the cows’ rectums.
Mr Carbstrong said: “One of our farm vets said Saputo had sent an email warning to its farms and suppliers telling them not to talk to strangers and to be more careful after exposure. ‘Be more careful’ – an odd thing to say to farms sending you milk. Wouldn’t you say stop mistreating cows?”
“And this individual [the vet] He said it was okay for farmers to talk to strangers if they were not doing anything illegal.”
An RSPCA spokesman said: “Images from these farms show shocking behavior towards animals, where staff are seen kicking, hitting, poking and pushing cows, sometimes with gates, poles and tools, including those unable to stand.
“This will have caused significant distress and suffering to the cows and is completely unacceptable behavior towards any animal.”
Both farms supply milk to Saputo Dairy UK, which produces Cathedral City cheese and Clover and Country Life cheeses. Penzance Trevear Farm has no connection with Trevear Farm in Wadebridge.
Mr Carbstrong said: “Whether it was a smaller local facility such as Trevear Farm in Penzance or a larger intensive dairy such as Polshea, the truth is the same: terrified cows were beaten, tortured and abused.
“Disturbingly, we documented workers on both farms raping cows by inserting objects into their rectums; one of them was injured or unable to stand.”
A Saputo spokesperson added: “All supplying farms must comply with our animal welfare policy and farm standards. In addition to industry inspections, we also carry out our own regular inspections and ensure we investigate all credible allegations of animal cruelty.”
The spokesman said: “The farm owners in question have taken responsibility for their actions and are cooperating fully.”
They said Saputo had resumed receiving supplies from Polshea farm as it had resolved all pressing issues. “These actions include professional anger and stress management support, animal care training for all staff, the appointment of a full-time member of staff to look after the safety and care of animals and staff on site, the use of appropriate animal handling devices and the installation of CCTV.”
They added that follow-up inspections will also be carried out by experts.
Meanwhile, they said the company was investigating footage from 2022 at Trevear Farm in Penzance.
A Red Tractor spokesperson said: “We take the welfare of animals on Red Tractor certified farms extremely seriously. We are investigating the farms shown in this image and have suspended Polshea Farm’s Red Tractor certification.”
The RSPCA has no legal powers to enter private property and refers investigations of farm animal cruelty to the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency. The charity urged people to report complaints about commercially farmed animals to the agency.
An agency spokesman said: “We take breaches of animal welfare legislation very seriously and will always take action when faced with such a situation. We investigate these cases.”
Cornwall council told Mr Carbstrong that an animal health inspector and an APHA vet visited Trevear Farm unannounced a few days after receiving the images and found nothing illegal during their visit.
A Cornwall council spokesman said: “On 8 October 2025, Cornwall Council received footage allegedly taken at Trevear and Polshea Farms. Inspectors from our animal health team visited both farms. Our investigations are ongoing.”
Both farms were asked for comment but did not respond.
Mr Carbstrong claimed the dairy industry in the UK left animals vulnerable to abuse.
“From the milk in people’s tea to the cheese on their pizza, the products of this system reach almost every home in the country,” he said.
