Humane Society Says Video Shows Abused Livestock
The Humane Society of the United States on Wednesday released new video taken at animal auctions in four states that showed sick and injured cows lying on the ground, and called on the U.S. government to prevent further cases of animal abuse at similar facilities.
The video, taken by the Humane Society during April and May in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas, showed downed cattle lying on the ground with no human assistance for several hours, and in one case the animal was left outside without food or water during the night.
In all instances, the Humane Society said, the treatment amounted to animal abuse. The group said they could not determine if the animals ever entered the food supply.
Unlike slaughter plants that are overseen by inspectors from the U.S. Agriculture Department, there is no regulatory presence required from state or federal officials at interstate markets such as auction houses, the group said.
“There is a gap in the regulatory process. No one is watching. No one is taking responsibility for these animals,” Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, told reporters.
The evidence was presented to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer last week. Pacelle said the group urged the USDA to close a “loophole” that allows downed cattle to be slaughtered in rare cases while expediting rules to require more humane treatment of animals.
“Since learning about this investigation, we are reaching out to states and industry groups to address this issue,” said Schafer. “In my conversation with the Humane Society last week, I expressed my sincere desire to work with them.”
Beef from downer cattle — defined as an animal too ill or injured to walk — is generally not allowed in the food supply. The rule was adopted as a safeguard against “mad cow” and foodborne diseases. Meat packers are required to alert USDA veterinarians of downer cattle so they can decide if the animal can be slaughtered for food.
At the Clovis Livestock Auction in New Mexico, two downed cattle were filmed by the Humane Society over five hours on April 30, including one animal that was flailing her legs as she expelled feces into the pen where other cows were held.
Charlie Rogers, owner of the facility, said his business does not allow nonambulatory animals to be unloaded, and will euthanize sick or injured animals as soon as possible. In this case, the health of the animals deteriorated after they arrived.
“I’ve been here 22 years and I’ve never had a complaint against me before this,” said Rogers. “I’m just as concerned about proper handling of livestock as anybody. That’s how I make a living.”
Randy Bouldin at the Livestock Exchange in Hereford, Texas, said he wishes the Humane Society would have told him about the two downed cows on his property on April 1 so they could have been humanely euthanized immediately.
“I feel like the Humane Society’s primary objective was to get a story rather than the concern of the two cows,” he said.
The findings from the livestock auctions were the second investigation made public by the Humane Society this year.
A videotape released on January 30 showed Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co workers using abusive techniques to force sick and injured cattle into a slaughterhouse so they could be processed into food.
The practices at the California Hallmark plant triggered the recall of almost 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of meat, mostly beef. It was the largest recall in U.S. history.
To see the video go to: http://video.hsus.org/
Editing by Christian Wiessner
© 2008 Reuters
It will never change. You cant make unnecessary killing nice.
Its impossible. The people who work in the industry and own them are there to profit off the unnecessary exploitation of others–or “livestock” as they call it.
Best thing to do is to avoid eating animal corpses.
If you can’t stop eating meat you can at least cut it down to a fraction of your food intake. Believe me, the only thing that will happen is an overall improvement in your health.
What a disgusting example of the lack of decency or caring for life. For the life of me, I cannot even begin to relate to or understand people’s lack of caring about what they eat and where their food comes from — so disconnected from the nice packaging that it’s no longer an animal, just goods. Stop eating meat!! Or at least limit it to once or twice a month.
Meat eaters suck.
If anyone wants to cut down or go vegeterian or vegan, here’s an awesome resource–a free veg starter kit: http://www.exploreveg.org/resources/vsk.html
Mmmmm. Diseased cow. Doesn’t that look yummy.
Looks like we’re all vegans, vegetarians or non-meat eaters so far on this thread. I’m waiting for Simple Sauce to come on and champion the merits of meat eating.
@anne faith - I think the meat eaters steer clear of all threads like this now. Wish we could do like in “So Long and Thanks for all the Fish”, and ship the meat eaters to another planet.
We don’t put death on the family table. It’s been 34 years now. It’s my and my family’s choice. It works for us. I would simply ask that people consider giving up on eating the flesh of any animal. In my opinion, it is a simple and healthy way of reducing a considerable amount of unnecessary suffering and violence.
If everyone felt like we did here, imagine how much suffering could be avoided, how much healthier we would all be, and how many people we could feed! Maybe that will happen not by choice, but when the food runs out and people are living on things like potatoes and rice.
As long as we have slaughterhouses we will always have wars.
Eat ranchers
I agree with all the postings, but don’t take that holier than thou attitude. You are not perfect either, and I am sure at some point in your lives you have caused unnintended harm. I don’t eat meat either.
We raise our own beef and do not treat them inhumanely as shown on this video.
Some die, some eat.
I only wish I could eat MORE meat!
Right on greatbear. It’s the same mindset.
>>”“There is a gap in the regulatory process. No one is watching. No one is taking responsibility for these animals,” Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, told reporters.”<<
Regulations create more problems than they solve. Our food system needs a downsize in scale instead of more regulations. I suggest taking it back from the agribusinesses and making it our own again through small scale, diversified, family farms.
If you want to see a complete documentary of the state of the meat industry take a look at EARTHLINGS.
You can view it here online http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/earthlings.php
The google video link is no longer available, but you can still find another source online if you do a search on “earthlings”.
Find out if you are a speciesist. . .
There are many good reasons to limit consumption of meat. Sanctimonious vegans are not one of them. Humans are, afterall, naturally omnivorous. Carrots are alive as well as cattle.
“There is a gap in the regulatory process. No one is watching. No one is taking responsibility for these animals,… ”
There is a gap in this species ecological sanity.
Example: “Humans are, afterall, naturally omnivorous…” NOT!
“When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural herbivores.”
William C. Roberts, M.D., editor, American Journal of
Cardiology
http://youtube.com/watch?v=05zhL1YUd8Q
(A Bizarro look at huamn ecological insanity)
and
From “The Comparative Anatomy of Eating”, by Milton R. Mills, MD
Facial Muscles
CARNIVORE: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
HERBIVORE: Well-developed
OMNIVORE: Reduced
HUMAN: Well-developed
Jaw Type
CARNIVORE: Angle not expanded
HERBIVORE: Expanded angle
OMNIVORE: Angle not expanded
HUMAN: Expanded angle
Jaw Joint Location
CARNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth
HERBIVORE: Above the plane of the molars
OMNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth
HUMAN: Above the plane of the molars
Jaw Motion
CARNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
HERBIVORE: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
OMNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side
HUMAN: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
Major Jaw Muscles
CARNIVORE: Temporalis
HERBIVORE: Masseter and pterygoids
OMNIVORE: Temporalis
HUMAN: Masseter and pterygoids
Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
CARNIVORE: Large
HERBIVORE: Small
OMNIVORE: Large
HUMAN: Small
Teeth: Incisors
CARNIVORE: Short and pointed
HERBIVORE: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
OMNIVORE: Short and pointed
HUMAN: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
Teeth: Canines
CARNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved
HERBIVORE: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
OMNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved
HUMAN: Short and blunted
Teeth: Molars
CARNIVORE: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
HERBIVORE: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
OMNIVORE: Sharp blades and/or flattened
HUMAN: Flattened with nodular cusps
Chewing
CARNIVORE: None; swallows food whole
HERBIVORE: Extensive chewing necessary
OMNIVORE: Swallows food whole and/or simple crushing
HUMAN: Extensive chewing necessary
Saliva
CARNIVORE: No digestive enzymes
HERBIVORE: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
OMNIVORE: No digestive enzymes
HUMAN: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
Stomach Type
CARNIVORE: Simple
HERBIVORE: Simple or multiple chambers
OMNIVORE: Simple
HUMAN: Simple
Stomach Acidity
CARNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
HERBIVORE: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
OMNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
HUMAN: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
Stomach Capacity
CARNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
HERBIVORE: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
OMNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
HUMAN: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract
Length of Small Intestine
CARNIVORE: 3 to 6 times body length
HERBIVORE: 10 to more than 12 times body length
OMNIVORE: 4 to 6 times body length
HUMAN: 10 to 11 times body length
Colon
CARNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth
HERBIVORE: Long, complex; may be sacculated
OMNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth
HUMAN: Long, sacculated
Liver
CARNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A
HERBIVORE: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
OMNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A
HUMAN: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
Kidney
CARNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine
HERBIVORE: Moderately concentrated urine
OMNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine
HUMAN: Moderately concentrated urine
Nails
CARNIVORE: Sharp claws
HERBIVORE: Flattened nails or blunt hooves
OMNIVORE: Sharp claws
HUMAN: Flattened nails
And if you wanted to look down the other end of the digestive system, and space does not permit anything but oversimplification, why do you think so many humans get bowel/colon cancer? Why is a high fibre diet recommended? (That’ll teach Reagan to eat his broccoli, in spite of what he said actually being quite humorous.)
Yes, even a vegan could still get the disease, but look at the statistics folks.
Just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should. That’s why god (or whatever) gave us a brain. To think with.
I reckon I’m mostly preaching to the converted here anyhoo…
Oh, for god’s sake:
* killing an animal is cruel (meat, fish, chicken)
* multiply it by a billion in cruelty when you take into account the factory farming industrialised concentration camp set ups
* add the damage to the ecosystem
* exponential water usage compared to growing crops for direct human consumption
* exponential land usage compared to growing crops for direct human consumption
* massive carbon emissions
* the damage to human health (despite what “meat and livestock” industries pay billions of dollars per annum to convince us to the contrary) just look at the carnivorous fatties around you compared with the slimmer far longer living vegans
But once again… it’s just so much kinder to not confine and kill other beings. It’s just so much nicer to just not hurt others. So what is there to even think about???
WAKE UP AMERICA! The “downer cow” you see here is down because it has Bovine Spongiform Encepholopathy (BSE), the progressive neurological disease which can be transmitted to other species, including humans. In humans, it’s called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), 100% fatal. Keep in mind when these downer cows are ground up and fed to other animals, the other animals develop the equivalent of “mad cow disease”…and don’t forget the rendering factories where all the dead mad cow carcasses, poultry waste, supermarket rejects, diseased/euthanized cats/dogs end up every month to be cooked down & pulverized into powdered meal and sold to farmers, pet-food manufactures et al. This is the product fed to animals that many of YOU buy and eat.
I’m convinced that if anyone has eaten meat in the last 10 or more years will fall victim to ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE sooner or later. It’s just another name for CJD.
A recall of 143 million pounds of meat isn’t going to save any one of those children who ate GOD only knows how many prion burgers! WE AMERICANS OUGHT TO BE OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!
@SenioRose
I believe what you say. I have had dogs and have been around them all my life. In just the last 20 years, dogs everywhere in the US develop fatty (benign) tumors as they age. You can see them on older dogs as large growths. I never saw these growths on dogs when I was young. I’ve talked to dozens of vets and they agree that it is new. The answer: Its in the feed we give them.
Wanna know why cancer is the big killer of people these days? We live in a much more toxic environment than 50 years ago. Despite the environmental efforts to clean up hazardous waste etc, toxins are finding their way into our food, our water systems, our bodies. I’m not even going to talk about the cell phone/TV/microwave/radio waves we are bathing in. If it was not for good drugs, I’d be promising ya’ll protracted and painful deaths.
Good health starts with clean water and environment, and good nutrition. I’m sorry that most of you will never have access to this.
Animals die and most of them do not have food and water during the process, that is not the inhumane part. The inhumane part starts at birth and pretty much includes everything including an un-natural and healthy diet until they are slaughtered in a unhumane way. Ethically or morally bankrupt they are still considered for food. My ancestors evolved with animals they consumed for food and it is not unhealthy. The meat from domesticated abused animals is unhealthy, it is the process that is unhealthy.
How human beings live is very unhealthy and now these diseases appear in wild animals.
The big lie begins in the Garden of Eden . . .
and Eve stands still holding the APPLE and telling
you the truth of the upheaval.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
” The big lie begins in the Garden of Eden . . .
and Eve stands still holding the APPLE and telling
you the truth of the upheaval.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ”
BRAVO!
It seems to be a waste of time to talk about whether humans are naturally omnivores or whatever. Humans are naturally adaptable. Traditional Masai and Mongols live almost exclusively on meat and milk products,which is dictated by their particular ecosystems. Many other Asians live perfectly well on vegetarian or vegan diets.
We can evaluate what works for us as individuals and groups in different times and places. Our consciousness and adaptability should be pushing us away from using so much meat in the United States for a variety of reasons:
QUALITY OF ANIMAL LIFE: We no longer have a sheep in the meadow who lives a decent sheep life, is born, nurses, plays, grazes, gives milk, breeds and then is killed quickly for a feast. The lives of industrial farmed animals and birds are miserable from cradle to grave.
ARTIFICIAL CHEMICALS IN INDUSTRIAL FARMING: Industrial animals and birds are pumped with hormones, antibiotics and who knows what which goes into our bodies and into the environment with bad results of all kinds. Human bodies and breast milk are full of foreign chemicals, most of which were not found in human blood 40 years ago.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: Raising animals like pigs and beef cows uses large amounts of grain and water at the expense of the world’s hungry and thirsty. The waste of large scale meat farming pollutes rivers and water tables.
HEALTH: Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains seem to be very good for health - and these findings have persisted for many many decades. (Only problem is they are rather expensive. Very very small amounts of meat or dairy can improve an adult’s diet, but are not strictly necessary if good vegetarian practices are followed.
During other periods of my life I was grateful to get any food; turning away from meat is a more recent development. Meat is actually more satisfying per dollar than other foods.
There are still lots of people who need to get what food they can, when they can, where they can. It is more serious than ever with food prices rising so quickly. I recently heard a group of my students talk of getting up to the checkout counter and having to leave food behind. These are not people who buy soda and junk food.
For them, rather than preach, I think we should encourage farmers’ markets, family farms and small lawn and lot gardens, carrying their own lunches etc.
“Very very small amounts of meat or dairy can improve an adult’s diet, but are not strictly necessary if good vegetarian practices are followed.”
This is precisely the reason that a better understanding of anatomy and physiology is required… without it, the above nonsense can sound reasonable, especially to those raised inside a meat-eating culture (pretty much all of us).
So,
“It seems to be a waste of time to talk about whether humans are naturally omnivores or whatever. Humans are naturally adaptable. Traditional Masai and Mongols live almost exclusively on meat and milk products,which is dictated by their particular ecosystems. Many other Asians live perfectly well on vegetarian or vegan diets.”
This is just another way to make confusion out of common sense: if our anatomy and physiology dictates a plant based diet, then it will be the healthiest. Furthermore, since anatomy and physiology are ecologically defined, respecting these constraints should mean that we are also adapting better to ecological requirements.
For instance, 1/50 of the land required for a typical meatarian diet is required for a human being practicing their natural plant based diet. So clearly respecting our anatomy is the hands down ecological winner.
Finally, animal products, even in small amounts are unhealthy. Obviously, the less you consume, the less unhealthy the practice is, but, it is still unhealthy!
Some things to realize, we are NOT adapted to breakdown animal proteins. Thus, consumption of animal proteins contributes to a number of problematic conditions including acidification which is the principal cause of osteoporosis… and consuming dairy not only does not alleviate this problem, it exacerbates it.
There are so many debilitating conditions caused by consuming animal foods and the reason is: we are not designed to consume them… we are designed to be exclusive plant eaters… and knowing that, clears up all the confusions …
So, debate if you must, because getting clear about your anatomy and why it is important is the shorthand way to end just about every problem facing the planet today… not too bold… just a verifiable fact.
Don’t forget that what you consider ecological necessity on the part of others is actually also rooted in cultural conditioning. (BTW, ALL humans have an allergic reaction to bovine milk… every human body recognizes it as a toxin and will produce some amount of antibody to it! Even long term cultural practices have not altered this biological fact in any human group on the planet! http://notmilk.com )
Yahoo printed an article yesterday on the increasing rate of meat and dairy consumption in China. It is interesting what they say in regard to elevated rates of cancers and other health problems. I hope you can find the article.
“There are still lots of people who need to get what food they can, when they can, where they can. It is more serious than ever with food prices rising so quickly. I recently heard a group of my students talk of getting up to the checkout counter and having to leave food behind. These are not people who buy soda and junk food.”
The price of fresh produce is affected by a number of policies mostly centering around ‘centralized economic’ models and the role of agribusiness in accomplishing those for the food industry.
The current situation of high food prices can be alleviated by concerted efforts to realize that most (if not ALL) reliance on agribusiness is generally unhealthy (for you and the environment and people and animals in other lands). And to promote community programs to re-introduce local sustainability.
A number of things can be done, some ambitious, many less so. And anything done that limits one’s reliance on mechanized agriculture is generally good… planting a few fruit trees, growing some herbs and vegetables, making a small garden, organizing a community garden… encouraging organic ‘Foodscaping’ (using edible-producing plants to beautify places where otherwise exclusively ornamental plants were or would have been planted)…
It’s truly amazing how much even small efforts can produce and when shared amongst neighbors, friends, co-workers, can seriously alleviate burdensome food bills while providing some really nice variety.
Not all gardening efforts require a great deal of effort. But all successful ones will make some positive dent in the agribusiness drain on the environment.
This is a huge subject and this film is a highly recommended documentary: http://100777.com/node/1805
Finally, meat is artificially priced since there are a number of government subsidies that keep prices low… such as free water.
The actual costs of meat; to the animals, the environment and our health can’t be overstated.
“Like oil, meat receives government subsidies in the U.S. marketplace.” http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/business/meat.php
It’s beyond me how anyone can work in a slaughterhouse where one is surrounded by blood, guts, and death after inflicting pain and suffering on a defenseless animal. You get a good look at all that in the movie “Fast Food Nation.”
It would be just as bad as working for the U.S. Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex weapons-producing business.