(ANIMAL ABUSE) CALIFORNIA — The USDA shut down Central Vally Meat Company earlier this month when an undercover video by the animal organization Compassion Over Killing showed cows suffocated, shot, poked and prodded repeatedly. One “spent” dairy cow was shocked more than forty times. The slaughterhouse re-opened for business on Monday, causing concern among animal advocates. It’s hard to believe that in such a short amount of time the meat company implemented enough long-term changes to follow federal regulations about the treatment of animals. The slaughterhouse claims to now have procedures in place to train employees in the more humane handling of animals. Read on for more on this disconcerting news, and whether Central Valley Meat Company is on the road to animal abuse recovery or whether they put a temporary band-aid on the issue to get the plant up and running again. — Global Animal
Photo Credit: AP
Reuters, Mary Slosson
A slaughterhouse in California’s central agricultural heartland was allowed to reopen on Monday after agreeing to improve its handling of animals following a graphic video that showed cows being mistreated there, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
The USDA suspended operations at the Central Valley Meat Company earlier this month after animal rights activists gave it a video showing cows at the facility flailing wildly as they are dragged by one leg on a conveyor belt on their way to be slaughtered.
“The company has committed to a number of corrective actions including additional humane handling training for employees and safeguards to ensure that only ambulatory animals are processed,” an agency spokesman said in an email.
The plant was allowed to resume operations as of Monday morning, although an investigation into possible food safety violations is continuing.
The company still is suspended from supplying meat to federal food programs, including the National School Lunch Program to which it contributed prior to the video’s release, the USDA said.
The video, published online by activist group Compassion Over Killing, shows lame, sick former dairy cows being shot in the head multiple times and struggling before they die. In one portion of the video, a worker stands on a cow’s nostrils to kill it after the cow is shot in the head.
An undercover activist shot the video at the farm in June and July, the animal rights group said.
Central Valley Meat Company said the closure of its facility caused economic hardship for the 450 people that work at the family-run plant.
“We have worked closely with both inspectors and industry experts while developing our USDA-approved action plan,” the company said in an emailed statement. “As a result, Central Valley Meat will provide better training for our workers, better monitoring of our facilities, and more frequent third-party audits of our operations.”
The company told Reuters at the time of its suspension that it had retained an outside animal welfare expert to conduct an internal investigation.
In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States captured employees of a California meatpacking plant in Chino torturing cattle and processing the unfit animals for human consumption in a gruesome undercover videotape.
That video’s release led to the record recall of nearly 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of meat by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company.
More Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/california-slaughterhouse-allowed-reopen-cow-cruelty-video-194059618.html
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Why would anyone have sympathy about the economic hardship of people that supported and or participated in these beyond cruel and tortureous
acts inflicted on these helpless animals.
These people have them same compassion as child molesters and deserve the same place in hell!
NO!!!!
Definitely not!1
not no…but…HELL FRICKIN NO! Just because these poor animals are destined for someone’s plate, doesn’t mean they have to suffer the cruel sadistic and inhumane practices at places like this.
NO
NO
no way
Shameful..
Under what names do they sell/package their meat? I want to know so that I can pass them by in the grocery store. I will NOT patronize such a business. I do not buy from Tyson for this very reason.
NO WAY!!!! I would love to know if they begin resupplying these companies!
HELL NO
Absolutely not, and should never re open and giving this humans a chance…never ever…
We do have costco in Canada but I don’t buy meat…
NO!!!
Absolutely NOT!
Absolutely not!
Thankfully still cancelled with Costco. I am a Costco family member and sicked that it was even sold there. In and Out also, for shame!! But if they do decide to rebuy from them, I will be there to protest it!!
Hi Gregg. Up until the investigation, Central Valley Meat company supplied meat to national school lunch programs, Costco, and In-And-Out Burger.More…
ABSOLUTELY NOT! The company’s employees, owners, and the USDA inspectors have all proven themselves as incompetent and cruel.
It’s going to take until 2014 to get better treatment for pigs, but this place changed it’s tune in such a short time….don’t think so. Where do they sell their meat to so we know where not to buy it from?
no