Following my post last night about the federal sentencing of former AgriProcessors executive Sholom Rubashkin, several comments called into question my claim that there had been inhumane treatment of animals at AgriProcessors. This claim was not a significant focus in yesterday’s post. I offered a comment with a succinct explanation, which apparently provided inadequate evidence for at least one of the skeptics. Because it will require a lengthy response to show why I overwhelmingly believe there was tza’ar ba’alei chayim (unnecessary animal suffering) at AgriProcessors, I have decided to put up a new post rather than a mere comment. This information is not new for many readers of The Jew & The Carrot, but demands for it arising out of last night’s post are.
Some readers will inevitably question the involvement of PETA and be tempted to tune out the details. Don’t just shoot the messenger. If you can see the video footage with your own two eyes, read the statements from leading animal welfare experts like Dr. Temple Grandin, and take note of AgriProcessors’ punishment by the U.S. government, then that’s evidence enough in my book.
It’s not surprising that misinformation abounds on issues related to AgriProcessors. As U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose said in a press release today largely about the financial charges, “various interest groups and people evidently seeking personal notoriety have hijacked the true facts of this case for their own purposes. It is impossible to address the mountain of false information that has found its way into the public arena.”
2004
Watch this PETA undercover video, and you can see for yourself that cattle had their tracheas ripped out of their throats and suffered prolonged agony following shechita. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) later told the plant to stop the throat-ripping procedure and determined that AgriProcessors employees “had engaged in acts of inhumane slaughter.” (One of the comments in response to last night’s post attempted to shift the blame from AgriProcessors to the USDA. While the USDA also erred in its role, it is false to claim that the USDA report somehow vindicates AgriProcessors.)
The abuse was condemned by myriad rabbis and animal welfare experts. Dr. Grandin, who is deemed a leading expert on animal welfare in slaughterhouses by both animal welfare advocates and the meat industry (certainly including AgriProcessors), noted, “In conclusion, many of the cattle that had their trachea removed were fully conscious and fully sensible. The duration of complete sensibility was probably prolonged by the pain of having their inner tissues cut and pulled during this dressing procedure.” She separately stated, “I thought it was the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been in at least 30 other kosher slaughter plants, and I had never ever seen that kind of procedure done before.”
2007
As I wrote on The Jew & The Carrot in July 2007, “Last week, video footage from an undercover investigation of Local Pride, a [Rubashkin-owned] kosher slaughterhouse in Nebraska, was released by PETA. The footage shows that cows had their ears mutilated to remove ID tags and their throats ripped into with a hook–all while they were still conscious. Veterinarian Dr. Holly Cheever commented, ‘This method of slaughter as depicted on this tape is brutal and should be amended to provide a humane end for these animals.’”
2008
Another PETA video investigation “showed that a worker other than the shochet made a ‘second cut’ to animals’ throats following the initial cut of shechitah, which is a big no-no,” as I explained on heebnvegan in September 2008. The procedure was condemned by Dr. Grandin and is illegal under the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
The Des Moines Register reported, “Federal regulations bar workers performing kosher slaughter from making the second cut unless a rabbi is watching. Agriculture Department inspectors followed up on the video and determined that a worker had violated the regulation and issued the citation, known as a ‘noncompliance record,’ said Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.”