A shocking new undercover video produced by Compassion Over Killing (COK) graphically reveals the good, the bad and the ugly truth about what goes on inside a California processing plant that is owned by the largest lamb producer in the United States. Correction: there is no good.
Posing as an employee, a COK investigator secretly shot the short video that goes a long way in revealing the sheer horror happening at a Dixon, California processing plant, owned by Superior Farms which supplies meat, and sheep and lamb byproducts, to retailers throughout the United States including the two largest, Walmart and Kroger.
In what the animal rights group calls the “first ever looked inside a lamb slaughterhouse in the United States,” cameras rolled as sheep were subjected to horrific animal cruelty before and after their deaths.
The video, shot over a span of seven months, shows in graphic detail the brutality these innocent animals endure; including being repeatedly poked and electrically prodded onto a truck, ineffectively stunned and rendered unconscious prior to having their ears and tails cut off, having their throats cut multiple times with a knife before still appearing to breathe afterwards and having their skin and wool ripped from their bodies so more money can be made through the generation of products such as the leather and sheepskin used to make clothes, shoes and UGG boots among many other items.
“Time and again, Compassion Over Killing’s investigations have shed light on egregious abuse kept hidden behind the closed doors of factory farms, showing that cruelty is standard practice in animal agribusiness,” said Erica Meier, Executive Director of Compassion Over Killing. “The best way to help lambs and all animals is to leave them off our plates.”
Among the many blood-red flags also raised, is the assertion that workers at the plant change the “best by” dates on packages; sometimes leading the consumer to believe the product is good for well over a week past its original date.
According to COK, the video also demonstrates severe violations of the Federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act which requires that an animal must be rendered unconscious before being slaughtered. As per the law, “The stunned animal shall remain in the state of surgical anesthesia through shackling, sticking and bleeding.”
It also challenges Superior Farms claim that they butcher the animals according to the Islamic rules of halal: which among its many regulations states that the animal must be cut in the throat no more than one time.
“The video falsely alleges multiple violations,” read a statement released by the company which accused animal-rights groups of misconstruing normal slaughter practices; implying that shocking procedures captured on video were standard practice according to industry guidelines.
Among those disagreeing with the company’s response is Dr. Lester Castro Friedlander, a former USDA Chief Veterinary Meat inspector who said that “In My Professional Opinion there were several violations of The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act…” After reviewing the video several times, he concluded that it was clear that some of the animals were in pain when their throats were slashed or their tails were cut off.
Source: Compassion Over Killing, The New York Times
Video Credit: Compassion Over Killing
