In Wednesday's testimony before the House Energy and Commerce investigative subcommittee, Hallmark/Westland executive Steve Mendell conceded that downed cows - those who are too sick or injured to walk - went into the food supply after the committee chairman played videotape evidence from an undercover investigation by The Humane Society of the United States showing a "downer" cow entering the plant's kill box - which is the final step before slaughter.

Mendell previously stated unequivocally that he was unaware of rampant abuse of cattle at his facility, which slaughtered "spent" dairy cows.

"These weak and infirm downer cows were tormented by slaughter plant workers," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Mr. Mendell said he was unaware of the daily abuses that happened on the grounds of the single slaughter plant he owned. Either he is willfully misrepresenting his knowledge, or he was an incompetent manager of the plant he owned."

At issue are cows unable to stand by themselves. Generally, these downer animals are not permitted to be slaughtered for food because they may carry a higher risk of disease, including infection with E. coli, Salmonella and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The six-week undercover investigation by The HSUS showed plant employees brutalizing such suffering animals with electric prods, the blades of forklifts, and even the application of high-pressure water into their mouths and nostrils - all to get them to stand long enough to be inspected for slaughter or to walk up the kill chute.

It is important to note that when news of the investigation first broke, Mendell denied even the basic facts of the mistreatment of cattle at his plant. He was quoted in The Washington Post on January 30 as saying, "That's impossible" that electric prods were used. As for water forced into the nostrils of downer cows, he was quoted as saying, "That's absolutely not true."

"This case is a wake-up call to the slaughter industry in America," said Pacelle. "The Hallmark/Westland plant had the full complement of USDA inspectors, and the president of the company says that the company provided intense training to its animal handling staff and had a series of third-party audits. If his claims are true, then the USDA oversight system, the third party audits, and the company's so-called training programs did nothing to halt abject cruelty to animals. We must wonder how far and wide this conduct can be found throughout the industry."

Source The Humane Society of the United States

1 Comments

Melody said:

I am so glad that there is something being done about this...not only for the safety of human food, but also because this is an inhumane way to treat those cows! I don't care if they are going to slaughter, they deserve to be handled humanely!

March 14, 2008 2:30 PM

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