Milk produced at a B.C. farm under investigation for "horrific" animal abuse will be destroyed until further notice.

The B.C. Milk Marketing Board said the decision is “unprecedented” and made in response to requests from processors that their deliveries do not include milk from Chilliwack Cattle Sales until an investigation has been completed.

“The Board will act in accordance with processor requests and due to lack of market, the milk will be destroyed,” a statement from the board reads.

The news comes less than 24 hours after dairy giant Saputo said it would not accept milk from the Fraser Valley farm because of an undercover video taken at the facility showing dairy cows being beaten, whipped and kicked. The video, taken over four weeks in May, was released by Mercy for Animals and has led to international outrage.

Nearly 100,000 people have signed a petition urging Saputo to implement a zero tolerance policy for animals abuse.

Late Monday, the Montreal-based company said it would no longer accept milk from the farm, and it would “use its position as Canada's largest milk processor to ensure the situation is being addressed and that such reprehensible behaviour . . . does not occur in the future.”

Saputo CEO and board vice-chairman Lino Saputo Jr. told CTV News Channel he was just as appalled as consumers when he saw the farm footage, and said the alleged abuse must serve as a catalyst to “consider reforming our industry.”

“I think we need to send a message to the industry, and all stakeholders in the industry, that there needs to be reform,” Saputo said.

The dairy baron said the dairy industry and milk marketing board in B.C. are powerless to monitor what happens at individual farms.

“At the end of the day, we are processers of that milk. We receive that milk. That milk is managed by the milk marketing board and we were working with industry to try to find some solutions,” he said.

He added that destroying the milk should serve as a “wake-up call” to the industry. Saputo is doing its own independent analysis, he added, and won’t accept milk from the farm again until they’re satisfied animals are being treated well.

Mercy for Animals is calling on Saputo to implement “meaningful animal protection guidelines for all dairy suppliers, including zero tolerance for animal abuse, care for ‘downers,’ and video monitoring systems.”

“We have no way of knowing if this animal cruelty is running rampant at other factory farms, which means that consumers have no way of knowing if they’re drinking a little bit of cruelty in every glass of milk,” said Anna Pippus.

Mercy for Animals is calling on the federal government to implement proactive animal welfare standards and implementing third-party inspections to ensure those standards are being maintained.

Pippus said Saputo faced immense consumer pressure to boycott Canada’s biggest supplier.

“Saputo had no choice. Consumers were so outraged. They had to act,” she said.

The BC SPCA is recommending animal cruelty charges be laid against eight workers at the farm.

Chilliwack Cattle Sales owner Jeff Kooyman said the farm will do “whatever it takes” to restore the public’s faith in his facility, one of Canada’s largest dairy farms.

Kooyman extended an invitation for Saputo executives to visit the facility to “come and view the farm and level of animal care for themselves.”

“This is a family farm started in the 1950s and we care deeply for our animals. We would love the opportunity to show this to Saputo and what measures have been put in place to ensure animal welfare,” he said.

The Kooymans say they are working with the BC SPCA and regulatory agencies closely to ensure animal safety. It is apparently installing cameras throughout the facility and is seeking new training programs for current and future staff.

The farm said the training programs will align with the 2009 Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle.