Refuge51

ABC News: Sick Cattle Used to Feed School Children
By BRIAN HARTMAN
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2008


A hidden camera investigation by an animal rights group has uncovered disturbing treatment of ailing cows at a California slaughterhouse that provides meat for school lunches.

The video, obtained during what the Humane Society of the United States said was a six-week undercover investigation, shows a sickly cow being dragged by a chain before being poked, prodded, rolled and lifted with a forklift. Workers also are seen hosing the faces of cows in a manner that HSUS described as "torture, right out of a waterboarding manual."

An HSUS official said its investigator confirmed that at least some of the animals in the video were "spent dairy cows," allegedly sold for meat after they had grown too old and sick to produce milk, and that they were slaughtered for use in the human food supply.

HSUS says Westland Meat Company, which owns the slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif., is the No. 2 supplier of beef to a USDA program that "distributes the beef to needy families, the elderly, and also to schools, through the National School Lunch Program."

According to documents provided by HSUS, Westland was named a USDA "supplier of the year" for 2004-05. HSUS says the company "has delivered beef to schools in 36 states. More than 100,000 schools and child care facilities nationwide receive meat through the lunch program."

Such treatment of cows is generally considered abuse and is prohibited. But slaughtering such sick cattle — known as "downers" — also is banned to protect humans from contracting mad cow disease. The USDA considers its enforcement of the ban aggressive; HSUS says it's actually riddled with holes.

"Downed animals may be falling through the cracks as a result of poor oversight, anemic enforcement, and a loophole created by inconsistent agency regulations," the group says.

Both the USDA and the meat packer responded quickly to the allegations.

The president of Westland and of Hallmark Meat Packing Co., where the video was recorded, said today two employees were fired, and a supervisor was suspended "pending his explanation."

Refuge51

Refuge51

Video of workers abusing cows raises food safety questions - CNN.com

excerpt: In a written statement, Steve Mendell, president of both Westland and Hallmark, said the company has fired the two employees in the video and suspended their supervisor.

"We are shocked, saddened and sickened by what we have seen today. Operations have been immediately suspended until we can meet with all our employees and be assured these sorts of activities never again happen at our facility," he said.

The statement did not address whether meat from the sick cows in the video ever entered the food supply.

The USDA, in its news release, said it was "unfortunate" the Humane Society "did not present this information to use when these alleged violations occurred in the fall of 2007."

The Humane Society, in its statement, said it had turned the information over to "California law enforcement officials" at that time, and "local authorities asked for extra time before public release of the information."

Sean

THey were showing footage from that POS company last night; just disgusting.

Refuge51

The really disgusting part of their shock is it isn't even about the torture of former dairy cows..it's about passing off sick animals to the schools.

Just goes to show these companies cannot be expected to like their fellow humans any more than they like animals. The almighty dollar trumps humane behavior and compassion.

okpfloyd

Ref51, EXACTLY my FIRST thought on this...

BTW, Hope you are doing well...

Video of workers abusing cows raises food safety questions

__________________
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”.

George Orwell

Refuge51

Thanks, I meant to change my post to convey they weren't shocked at all about the animal abuse..they were only shocked about the possibility of using the meat for children.

These workers weren't fired for abuse, they were fired for using downed cows as fit for human consumption. These poor cattle aren't even allowed to be euthanized because the drugs to end their misery will cause them not to be safe even as pet food. I'm so fucking angry!

okpfloyd

Did you see that bull that was walking on two broken legs?, that's when it really got to me...things have to change. We are NOT evolving obviously......humans have been around long enough to know better...

__________________
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”.

George Orwell

Refuge51

I agree Floyd..I've said it enough times to make people sick, but we never had the right to force our dominion over animals.
Stewardship instead is our responsibility toward them.

Refuge51

Shedding Light on the Treatment of Dairy Cows

February 1, 2008


Dairy cows suffer in ways most consumers aren't aware of.
The latest HSUS investigation at a dairy cow slaughter plant has illuminated one of the cruelties that can occur in the dairy industry—an industry that, like other sectors involved in factory farming, generally keeps consumers in the dark about the conditions in which it raises and kills animals.

There are about nine million dairy cows in the United States. The majority of these animals typically aren't living on rolling green pastures, but rather are confined indoors, often in tie-stalls.

Institutionalized Abuse

One lesser-known abuse in the dairy industry is tail-docking—a practice banned in several European countries and opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Tail-docking is the partial amputation of up to two-thirds of the tail, typically performed without any painkiller whatsoever. Scientific studies have shown this mutilation causes distress, pain, and increased fly attacks.

In addition to breeding them for astronomical rates of milk production, producers often inject cows with hormones to further increase their unnaturally large milk yield. One animal scientist compares the modern dairy cow's metabolic stress stemming from hyper-productivity to a human jogging six hours a day, every day. Dairy cows are milked for ten months a year (including seven of their nine months of pregnancy) until their worn-out bodies begin to give in and they're slaughtered. Approximately 15 percent of the hamburger meat in the United States comes from "spent" dairy cows.

Although cows can live to be 15 or even older, they're typically slaughtered around four years of age. And as The HSUS's investigation revealed, dairy cows who are too sick or injured to walk to their own slaughter ("downers") can endure terrible abuses.

The Connection between Dairy and Veal

Like humans and all other mammals, cows produce milk for their offspring and only lactate when they've given birth. In fact, humans are the only species that regularly consumes mother's milk past infancy, much less the mother's milk of another species.

Dairy cows are usually kept in a cycle of near-constant pregnancy. On average, half of their calves are females and will likely replace their mothers on the dairy line. Male calves are often separated from their mothers within the first day—even within a few hours—after birth, causing both mother and calf great distress. Many of these day-old male calves are raised for veal who can be doomed to spend their entire four-to-five-month lives chained or tethered by the neck in individual crates so small, they can't even turn around. The veal industry is a direct byproduct of the dairy industry and depends on it for its survival.

What You Can Do

Urge the USDA to put an immediate, complete ban on using "downers" in the food supply.

Check out these delicious dairy alternatives (see link below)!
Shedding Light on the Treatment of Dairy Cows