How can this ever be considered acceptable?

Above: A HAPPY piglet free from cruelty-he's so cute! <3
Charges filed against 6 in Iowa pig abuse case

Recently, several employees of Mowmar Farms were exposed abusing the pigs under their care on a video released to the public by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). My question is how could this ever be considered acceptable by ANYONE? The owners of the farm and the company that it supplies (Hormel Foods Corp.) claim that this video is the first they have heard of this abuse of the animals involved in their industry. Fine. If they say so than hopefully they are being honest. And I hope they take the necessary proceedings to get rid of the abusers and put standards in place that prevents this from happening in the future (the article suggests that there will be consequences for the abusers and potential reforms by Mowmar who has thus far been cooperative in the investigation/charges).
But what about the people working alongside the abusers- why didn't they say something? What about the abusers? Honestly, what could bring someone to hurt innoccent creatures like this? These pigs have a sad enough existence as it is, they are being raised for food or else raised for breeding to produce offspring for food. Wonderful. The least their caretakers could do for them is to make sure that their life before being slaughtered is decent. Come on, animals are living, breathing, feeling creatures. They should have rights too and human treatment of them should be morally and ethically appropriate. I applaud groups like PETA for exposing abuse like this to the public who would otherwise likely be unaware of the mistreatment of the animals in the food industry. And cases like this are even more reason to support Proposition 2 in California- the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act. Though this act will not directly address the cruelty suffered by Mowmar Farms' pigs, it will support awareness of the plight of many factory farmed animals and bring relief to those cramped factory farm animals stuck in cages unable to move freeley for their entire lives. "No philosophy can justify this kind of treatment. Even the philosophy of cheapness," wrote the Times in an editorial. And they are right. Life isn't all about money. If these farms have to pay a little additional money to make sure that their animals are treated decently then so be it, it is there duty as caretakers of the animals. Many of them are suppliers to major companies and business chains, it's not as though they can't afford it. And Mowmar's pigs deserve to live the short lives we give them without abuse.
Unfortunately cases like this pig abuse in Iowa are not rare, and many cases go undocumented with the animals continuing to suffer until their dying day. Animals were not put on this earth to serve humans but since we have domesticated them they are in our care- they are our responsability now. So that means we have an obligation to protect them and make sure that their lives are lived out peacefully and enjoyably, even if they are being raised for food.
I am glad to finally see this topic covered by a well-known news source such as CNN. Now that more people are aware of the kind of treatment factory farm animals suffer on many farms there should be no excuse for not eradicating this cruelty.

Really, it's not that much to ask to provide farm animals with a decent life. Wouldn't you want it if you were in the animals' place?

Article: http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?id=15068818&ps=1011&cat=&cps=0&lang=en