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For immediate release:
May 18, 2021
Contact:
David Pearl 202-483-7382
Modesto, California. – PETA received a USDA report revealing a recent federal violation at Western Meat Processing in Modesto. In response, the group sent a letter this morning to Philip Talbert, Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of California, urging them to address the issue and, if necessary, initiate criminal proceedings against the man responsible for dragging the fallen conscious cow. at her tail off a truck trailer. The animal was dropped onto a concrete loading dock before being shot in the head by an overseer.
PETA is also asking Talbert to analyze a previous incident in which a Western Meat Processing worker beat a cow in the face with a paddle.
“These alarming reports show that cows have been subjected to excruciating violence at Western Meat Processing,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphne Nachminovic. “PETA is calling for a federal investigation into the interests of the cows harmed at this farm and encouraging anyone concerned about this brutality to become a vegan.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to eat” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. The group notes that cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives just like humans, and that the best way to prevent them from suffering in slaughterhouses is not to eat them.
For more information visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
This is followed by PETA’s letter to Talbert.
May 18, 2021
The Honorable Philip A. Talbert
Acting U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of California
Dear Mr. Talbert,
I hope this letter will correct you. I would like to ask your office to investigate and bring appropriate criminal proceedings against those responsible for repeated violations of the Humane Slaughtering Practices Act at Western Meat Processing, Inc., located at 725 Zeff Rd., Modesto. There, federal inspectors witnessed staff slapping a cow in the face and dragging a second, knocked down cow by the tail, as documented in the attached USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reports.
According to reports, federal officials have documented the following:
- April 29, 2021: CSI [Consumer Safety Inspector] … Came across [a cattle hauler] dragging a conscientious jersey cow [her] walk through the rear of the trailer to the concrete unloading area, dropping the cow to the ground. The cow was at the back of the trailer, about 2 feet inside on the floor of the trailer…. The cow was … on her side and did not try to get up after she was taken from the trailer. The trailer was about four inches above the concrete unloading area. The staff member followed the unloading procedures. “one
- March 15, 2018: “[T]FSIS Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) … heard a cow’s voice outside the door. SPHV immediately proceeded to the chair area and noticed your employees standing on the platform directly above the box…. One of the employees … stood directly over the second cow and beat [her] in the face several times with a hard plastic spatula attached to the end of a plastic pole. The SPHV instructed the employee to stop hitting the animal, but due to the force and the increasing intensity of the blows, the employee did not initially hear SPHV’s instructions. The SPHV watched the staff member hold the paddle like an ax to strike the animal in the face and nose, and he watched the animal rise and move. [her] leave after hitting. SPHV again immediately instructed the employee to stop hitting the animal, and it finally stopped. … This is a flagrant act of animal inhuman treatment in connection with the slaughter, as your coworker violently hit the cow. “2
The Federal Meat Inspection Act classifies such offenses as misdemeanors and carries penalties of up to one year in prison and / or a fine of up to $ 1,000.3 The fact that inhuman treatment persists at the facility clearly shows that FSIS enforcement alone is not enough to prevent future violations and that prosecution is in the best interests of the animals and society killed there. Considering that FSIS “fully supports the investigation of all persons involved in alleged violations of the Humane Slaughter Act” and that “[i]investigators from [its] USDA Enforcement and Inspector General … ready to go. “four With offices such as yours, we respectfully ask you to work with the FSIS’s Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit (OIEA) Prosecution and Prosecution Division (ELD) to investigate and bring appropriate criminal charges against those responsible for the above violations.
Please let us know what we can do to help you. Thank you for your attention and for the hard work you are doing.
Sincerely,
Colin Henstock
Assistant Investigation Manager
1FSIS District 05 Manager William Griffin, Suspension Notice, Western Meat Processing, Inc., Is an. M44824 (April 30, 2021) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-05/44824m-nos-04302021.pdf.
2FSIS District 05 Manager Yudhbir Sharma, DVM, Suspension Notice, Western Meat Processing, Inc., Is an. M44824 (March 15, 2018) https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/March-15-2018-Notice-of-Suspension.pdf.
321 USC § 676.
4 Elizabeth Hagen, “Undersecretary for Food Safety Shares Some Views on Humane Livestock Treatment,” USDA FSIS (February 21, 2017) https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2011/01/ 7 / under-secretary-food-security-share-some-insight-humane-handling-livestock (last accessed May 16, 2021).
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