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Giving Farmed-Animal Abusers Their Due
With so many high-profile stories in the news lately—the passing of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, the Gov. Sanford scandal, post-election protests in Iran—you may not have heard about the historic victories for animals that are taking place in American courtrooms. It’s worth noting that two of PETA’s undercover investigations of factory farms have just resulted in groundbreaking animal abuse convictions—convictions that are both highly significant and long overdue. All too often, the abuse of animals in the meat industry is shrugged off as just the cost of doing business.
In a landmark case, two former Aviagen Turkeys, Inc., workers were convicted of cruelty to animals after they were indicted on charges stemming from PETA’s fall 2008 undercover investigation of the company’s West Virginia turkey farms. PETA’s investigator caught workers at the farms punching birds, mimicking the rape of a hen and more. Following our investigation, a grand jury indicted three workers on cruelty-to-animals charges, most of which were felony offenses—marking the first time in U.S. history that former factory-farm workers faced felony charges for abusing birds.
One of the three men admitted to shoving feed down a turkey’s throat and maliciously breaking a turkey’s neck and was sentenced to a 12-month jail term. This is the maximum punishment permitted by law and the strongest penalty ever levied against an individual for cruelty to an animal raised for food in the U.S.
Another former Aviagen employee, who pleaded guilty to stomping on a turkey’s head and slamming a turkey to the ground, was sentenced to two consecutive six-month stays of home confinement. Perhaps more importantly, he is prohibited from owning, living with or working with any animals for five years.
The third case is still pending, but another grand jury is expected to issue additional felony indictments against the individual.
Although abuse is all too common on factory farms, it has been nearly 13 years since the first and only other conviction of a “poultry” farmer for cruelty to animals in this country.
Fortunately, the courts have been taking animal abuse cases more seriously lately. Just days before the ex-Aviagen employees were convicted of cruelty to birds, four former employees of an Iowa pig farm were punished for abusing pigs. Undercover investigators from PETA caught workers beating pigs, kicking them, spraying paint into their nostrils, sexually abusing one with a cane, electro-shocking pregnant sows and slamming piglets to the ground.
Three of the men have each been sentenced to two years in prison (although the sentences were suspended), and all were fined and ordered to pay court costs; one man owes more than $3,000. Three of the men also have been prohibited from owning or working with any animal for up to two years while on probation. In January, another of the workers became the first person ever to be convicted of abusing or neglecting factory-farmed pigs in Iowa, the nation’s top pork-producing state. He is currently serving six months’ probation and is not allowed to have contact with animals.
It’s important for consumers to know that although PETA’s undercover investigations routinely document gratuitous abuse, much of the cruelty on factory farms is standard practice. Pregnant pigs are confined to metal gestation crates so small that they can’t turn around. Chickens are bred and drugged to grow so large so quickly that many become crippled under their own weight. Cows are crammed together by the thousands on feces- and mud-filled feedlots. The best way to stop this suffering is to stop eating animals.
And here’s a warning for workers in the meat industry: PETA’s investigators (and the whistleblowers who tip us off) will continue to watch for animal abusers. During the hog farm investigation, one of the convicted workers, who slammed a pig on the back with a gate rod twice, causing her to scream, assured PETA’s investigator that it was OK to hurt the pigs because “no one from PETA” was watching. How wrong he was.
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25 Comments so far
Show AllDon't forget the wolves (and Frankensteins) hiding out in sheep's or shepherd's clothing. Folks like the 'good people' at Organic Valley--Family of Farms.
Small farmers are 'animals' too and deserving of better than they get from such monsters as the 'good people' at Organic Valley--Family of Farms.
PETA actually S-U-C-K-S, by the way. Because they're almost all fanatics--one dimensional in their thinkng, kinda like the 'good people' at Organic Valley--Family of Farms. (But don't tell them that.)
I WILL NOT SHUT UP.
PETA may be fanatics, but they're the only fanatics we've got. - Boxer
Usually I do not resort to ad hominum attacks here, but this time I can't resist. Nedlud, you disgust me. STFU please. It is bad enough that you are a sociopath, but at least your human adversaries can speak out. Animals can't and definitely NEED "fanatics" like you describe. If PETA weren’t raising consciousness, exactly who would? Tomorrow’s mainstream views are today’s fanaticism. In my lifetime we have gone from not being able to mention the existence of homosexuality, to a broad based acceptance of LGBT rights. Were the founders of the original Gay Liberation movements, “fanatics?” At the time they risked their lives just to walk down the street openly self identified as gay. Now, the straight majority is on their side. You hate PETA because you fear that they are essentially right. Social and political movements are like shaping metal. You have to bend things further than you want, and hope they spring back to the desired shape. Without so-called fanatics, we would all be blue dog Democrats, or small brained invertebrates, by another name.
More unsubstantiated slander of Cornucopia Institute's highest rated organic dairy operation?
There should be zero tolerance for cruelty to animals. End of discussion.
Thank you for the article. Nice to receive good news now and then.
PETA crosses the line when they accuse meat eaters of supporting animal abuse. ("The best way to stop this suffering is to stop eating animals.") They fail to recognize that most animals being raised for the market have a better life than if they had been turned loose into the wild. There is no sin in being a carnivore--it is our nature as well as our nutritional need. Should we shoot all the wolves in Yellowstone so that the poor elk won't suffer?
Liberals cross the line when they accuse large corporations of supporting human rights abuses in Third World countries. They fail to recognize that most poor people have a better life than if we left them alone. There is no sin in buying goods produced with child labor--it is our nature and our need to wear clothing and entertain ourselves. Should we take away corporate charters so that the poor workers won't suffer?
I have spent time in several African countries and have seen these abuses firsthand. The most extreme example was Angola. Without the civil war brought about by the (then) Soviet Union and the USA using locals as proxies, fighting over petroleum, the place would almost have recovered from Portuguese colonialism in previous years, especially by now, thirty years later. The locals starved while the American tankers came and went constantly. Conservatives cross another line when, like Barbara Bush viewing Katrina victims they suggest “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” This is a line of sanity and compassion. The real agenda of the right is to channel money upward and to create a permanent underclass of slaves. Perhaps you have no qualms about child labor in a shoe factory, but when you see, and are approached by ten year old prostitutes trying to feed themselves, you will know what sin is, even if you are an atheist. Show me a poor, failed state and I will show you a land pillaged by capitalists, usually from Europe or the USA. And no, I am NOT a liberal. I am a proud socialist. One can only witness so much suffering before one sees the truth. The truth is that your greed, arrogance, and over-consumption will bring the bliss and wonderfulness of Africa home to the USA sooner or later. Get used to effluent in the streets and no electricity. Get used to human children and pigs scavenging in piles of smoldering garbage for food. This is the price that Angola paid to have its oil and agricultural wealth stolen, so a few corrupt families could live in gated splendor. Enjoy your cheap plastic slave-assembled trash while you still can. Your grandkids will be mining it out of landfills to survive. Nihilism: It’s what’s for breakfast!!
Unless you raise all of the food you eat you are probably supporting abusive employment somewhere in the world. The guy who sells you a tomato in the Saturday morning farmers market might be beating his wife because she does not hoe the field to his satisfaction. The tomato might have been picked by an eight year old daughter whose family labor is being exploited. So make he world a better place--quit eating or garden like crazy. My original point is that PETA is less interested in the "ethical treatment of animals" than they are in outlawing the consumption of meat.
You're absolutely right that choices I (and most everyone) have made as consumers have supported abuses. My point was that this is bad, and that we're morally responsible for the things we choose to direct our money towards. You really are "supporting animal abuse" if you spend your money on meat from abused animals. Given the reality of factory farming, the purchase of most readily-available animal products supports animal abuse.
If it's possible to be a well-nourished vegan (and it really is, if you care to read about it), we have a choice to feed ourselves with or without killing animals on large scales (I grant that the process of farming plants does kill some animals along the way). If eating meat is gratuitous, then supporting meat production is unethical, and ending the practice is the ethical thing to do for animals. From this point of view, being vegan is a boycott more than anything else.
I'm not expecting to convince you, but it's a philosophically sound argument. There's more to it than being a crazy person that thinks animals are cute. PETA doesn't necessarily represent all vegans or animal welfare advocates, by the way...
No you do not make a philosophically sound argument. What you make is a nice piece of sophistry. You begin with assumptions that are only partially true and then move on to broad general statements. In a formal debate you would be slaughtered by a mere novice without any of the unethical measures you accuse agriculture of using.
You seem to be reiterating meat-eaters talking points, without actually understanding them.
Homo sapiens are not carnivorous. Our digestive system is clearly designed for a plant-based diet that can partially process small amounts of animal protein.
You eat meat because it is a convenient source of protein that you have been brainwashed into thinking tastes good and is good for you. Animal protein is not good for you, and vegetable protein can be prepared in ways that are indistinguishable from animal protein, and even tastes better.
Attacking PETA is a deflectionary tactic away from the real point. By eating meat, you wrought profound suffering on our fellow denizens on this planet, as well as contribute substantially to climate change.
Comparing our situation with wild animals is specious. We are sentient beings that ponder moral and ethical issues, with the ability to alter our environment. We strive for higher values. It is time we walk the walk.
I do understand. I got my graduate degree in Biology 40 years ago. The science was the same then as it is now. The nutritional needs of the human species requires two amino acids that are found only in vegetables if rice and beans are combined. These two amino acids are found abundantly in meat and products of animals such as dairy and eggs. Our species evolved as omnivorous (that includes meat). To deny this is to deny a whole lot of science. But, as we know now, if you want to deny scientific fact, you simply hire former tobacco company PR firms.
Oh good; a scientist I can speak with. Well, 40 years ago was, well, shortly after Watson and Crick told us about DNA, and taught only in a few schools. 40 years ago a staple of diet that was widely accepted as being "healthy" was sugar, fat, grease, and lots of it. My, how far we have come since then. Time to hit new books and get back up to speed.
I am glad that you agree that the essential amino acids are abundantly found in vegetables, nuts and beans. These three items contain everything necessary for healthy human survival and longevity. Alas, the same cannot be said of any combination of any product from animal protein production.
Our species adopted an omnivorous diet only in recent times. We did not evolve into omnivores, we adopted that habit. Our digestive tract is still too long and enzyme production woefully incomplete to utilize even a reasonable amount of animal product, so most of it is passed, partially undigested, through the system. This is one of the main reasons why the feces of meat eaters is so odoriferous. To deny this is to deny our understanding of the digestive system, and elements of good health.
I wonder whether the swine flu epidemic, which will probably get more attention as it runs its course and most of us actually get sick, will not result in closer attention to this kind of thing.
Of course, factory-farms will continue to move to countries that do not prosecute them, won't they?
I'm starting to think there's a basic error in having trade and economic relations with a country with whom one does not share a similar political system. The different system becomes a "comparative advantage" in Adam Smith's sense, and makes for a huge economic motivation for cruelty - and not just to (other) animals.
More unfounded accusations and frivolous lawsuits again? How are we supposed to enjoy our foods at cheap prices with all this PETA propaganda? PETA has its share of meat eating hypocrites so PETA should keep its mouth shut and stop causing our food prices to go up ! MORE FOOD ! MORE FOOD !
go to hell
Unfounded accusations and frivolous lawsuits? Did you read the article, Flying Doofus? People were tried and sentenced under criminal justice, not civil court, and based on solid documentation, including VIDEO.
It must be nice to get up every day, take your meds, and live in oblivion. The only thing I worry about is you driving that Hummer around, among people, people who could get hurt.
Ah, yet again they haul in the Lynndie Englands while the Donald Rumsfelds go free.
The ENTIRE MEAT AND DAIRY INDUSTRIES are cruelty to animals. Perhaps one day the Aviagen board of directors will pay for their crimes as well.
You know, my hats off to PETA, but the war will be won (as it should be) by the market.
I gave up eating meat and dairy because of the practices on factory farms--I believe all that cruelty comes back to haunt us in other ways (typically our own health). Since I have been able to find real food, I now eat some meat and a fair amount of dairy.
Farmers in this country are in a terrible position: "consumers" have lost the appreciation for food and all they are concerned about is how to get more "consumer products" at the lowest possible cost. The Wall Street Journal reported that chicken farmers received an average of 5 cents a pound for their live birds being sent off to slaughter. At that price, how can you possibly expect a farmer to care about animal cruelty? His/her concern must solely be: how do I get these chickens to grow more weight for the same cost of food and labor?
I'm on a really limited income, but I have prioritized my spending to concentrate on food. Real food that is, not the "consumer products" found in grocery stores.
Yeah, it is expensive: $13 a gallon for milk, $3 a pound for whole turkey, etc. I probably spend more per pound for my produce than most people pay for a pound of meat. In addition, the government is actively trying to prevent all of us from buying real food, so I must spend a lot of time getting my food. My farmers treat their cows, pigs, turkeys, etc. as well as I treat my dog (and if they don't they won't get another dime of my limited income).
If you prioritize your spending on food, there will be no more animal cruelty. And the money you spend on food will be money not spent at the doctor/pharmacy.
minus the first seven words that was remarkably ( or maybe i should less insultingly say unremarkably) reasonable.
You can prosecute the people abusing the animals,
Or you can dismantle the system of production that propagates this sort of behavior on a daily basis. The meat-production system manufactures and NORMALIZES abuse, so that while raping a pig with a cane is marked as a particularly nefarious action, the corporate practice of letting animals live without sunlight, in their own feces, diseased, and without moving more than five yards in their life is completely acceptable.
Please, lets transform this system: ban CAFOs, fine meat producers, legislate changes.
Merely prosecuting people here and there will be fruitless as a large-scale strategy.
i only have two problems with this article
"mimicking the rape of a hen"
really? did they call the hen a dirty whore too? I'm all for eating meat. I'm perfectly accepting that animals die so that I can eat them but still there's no cause for abusing them. stick with the REAL charges like punching bird and electrocuting pregnant pigs. Those are the real crimes. The fact that mocking hens was even mentioned brings down the quality of the article by 10%.
"The best way to stop this suffering is to stop eating animals."
I realize that this is where ideologically PETA and most people differ, but still I feel compelled to point out that just because they put frog hormones in your soap doesn't mean you never use soap again. It just means you stop buying soap from companies that do that. There are plenty of farms out there that don't abuse animals. That treat them in a manner that is not unnecessarily cruel, buy from them.
All in all I guess I'm glad these guys were convicted. There's no excuse for just beating defenseless animals just for fun. Quite frankly (and I'm not a butcher) can't think of any reason you need to beat the animal for any reason.
There are plenty of farms that do not abuse animals, but in general, animal abuse does not happen on the farm; it takes place during, and after transport to the slaughterhouse. Geddit now?
There is a reason why slaughterhouses do not have windows.