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For immediate release:
October 7, 2021
Contact:
David Pearl 202-483-7382
Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. – PETA received recent USDA reports disclosing at least half a dozen recent federal law violations at Abattoir Associates Inc., Center County. In response, the group sent a letter this morning to Acting US Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Bruce Brandler, urging him to review these violations of the Humane Slaughtering Practices Act and, if necessary, initiate criminal proceedings against the institution and officials in charge.
A report from August 31 shows that Abattoir Associates workers repeatedly shot animals in the head five times during August. alone… In one of these incidents, a worker shot a pig twice with a pistol and then left the slaughter area. The inspector had to indicate that the pig was still standing before the worker returned to shoot the animal for the third and final time. In another case, a cow was still conscious after a worker shot her over the eye with a fixed-bolt pistol and the worker was forced to shoot her a second time.
“These disturbing eyewitness reports show that these animals suffered a long and painful death at Abattoir Associates,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphne Nachminovich. “PETA is calling for a federal investigation on the best interests of every pig and cow affected at this site and calling on everyone to help keep animals out of the slaughterhouse by going 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, pigs, sheep, chickens and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just like humans.
For more information on collecting news and reporting on PETA investigations visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
This is followed by PETA’s letter to Brandler.
October 7, 2021
The Honorable Bruce D. Brandler
Acting U.S. Attorney
Pennsylvania Middle County
Dear Mr. Brandler,
I hope this letter will correct you. I would like to ask your office to investigate and bring relevant criminal charges against Abattoir Associates Inc. and its staff responsible for repeated violations of the Humane Slaughtering Practices Act, which requires animals to “become insensitive to pain with one blow … or other means that are quick and effective before being shackled, lifted … or cut “.1 At the company’s slaughterhouse, located at 119 Cooper Street in Spring Mills, Center County, employees have repeatedly shot at least six animals in the head in recent weeks, injuring and suffering them before finally passing out, as indicated in the attached appendix. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reports.
According to reports, federal officials have documented the following:
- September 22, 2021: “When trying to stun [a cow] in a gate with a locking head, with a manual gate Cash Special HD .25, the chick rushed forward. When the facility staff who were stunning the device tried to pull the device out, it was discharged, striking the animal above the right eye. Plant personnel took immediate and effective corrective action by resetting (captured bolt) and effectively stunning the heifer. ”2
- August 31, 2021: “On two separate occasions, August 18 and August 27, 2021 … there was humane treatment with a failure to comply with the requirements for amazing performance. In each case, the stun operator required more than one attempt to stun the animal. … In addition, this is the fifth stunningly effective incident in August 2021. “3
- August 9, 2021: “The pig from the market was stunned with a firearm. … A plant employee fired the first shot from a 22 caliber pistol. There was no sound, and the animal remained standing. Then the factory fired another shot from the same weapon. The person making the stunning left the area to kill and discharged all live ammunition from the pistol. Inspection personnel informed the stunning boar that the boar was still standing and sane. The stun gun then reloaded the pistol and successfully rendered it insensitive with a third shot. “4
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 $ 1,000.5 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. “6 With offices such as yours, we respectfully ask you to work with the FSIS’s Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit (OIEA) Prosecution and Trial 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
17 USC § 1902.
2District 60 FSIS Manager Dr. Linda E. Liliestrom, The restoration of the detachment, Abattoir Associates Inc. (September 22, 2021) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-09/44910-ROS-09222021.pdf.
3District 60 FSIS Manager Dr. Linda E. Liliestrom, The restoration of the detachment, Abattoir Associates Inc. (August 31, 2021) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-09/44910-ROS-08312021.pdf.
4District 60 FSIS Manager Dr. Linda E. Liliestrom, Suspension notice, Abattoir Associates Inc. (August 9, 2021) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-08/44910-NOS-08092021.pdf.
521 USC § 676.
6USDA, FSIS, “Under Secretary of Food Safety Shares Some Views on Humane Treatment of Livestock” (January 7, 2011) https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2011/01/7 / under-secretary-food-security-share-some-insight-humane-handling-livestock (last accessed October 1, 2021).
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