If you’ve bought milk within the last 15 years, you may be owed money for a really sad reason

You may be entitled to receive a check if you’ve purchased milk in certain states within the last few years, but unfortunately the reason behind it is pretty sad.

Several dairy producers around the country are being sued for unlawfully killing more than 500,000 dairy cows. The poor animals were slaughtered in order to increase demand so that the producers could increase prices for milk in stores.

As inhumane as the entire process was, it achieved the producers’ goal of raising prices.

Thankfully, the animal rights organization Compassion Over Killing began investigating and discovered that dairy producers under Cooperatives Working Together were unlawfully killing the cows.

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The dairy producers involved in that scheme must now pay a $52 million settlement, which is where the consumers come in.

If you bought dairy products (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, or cream) in Arizona, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, or Washington, D.C at any point since 2003, you may be eligible to receive a check. $20 max if you’re an individual and up to $400 if you’re a school or other entity.

The last day to file your claim is January 31, 2017, and you can do so by visiting BoughtMilk.com. You’ll need to provide some personal and contact information, and confirm residency in your state.

We can only hope this investigation ensures that something like this never happens again.