AR-News: TRANSPORT & SLAUGHTER CRUELTIES DOCUMENTED

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From: fidyl at yahoo.com
  
TRANSPORT & SLAUGHTER CRUELTIES DOCUMENTED

CANADA: A pig limping from a transport truck, cattle crammed together
for a 67-hour cross-country journey, a cow struggling to right
herself as she is hoisted into the air by a chained hind leg, a still
live bison strung up by a hind leg, cattle shot in the head 2-4
times. These are among the images recorded by Animals Angels's
activist Lesley Moffat as she followed trucks carrying pigs and
cattle to slaughterplants in Canada, Oregon and California. (Three
brief clips can be viewed on the Toronto Star web site.) "You see
these injured, sick animals in trucks and slaughterhouses all over
Canada," stated Moffat. The video documents the inadequacy of legal
protection for farmed animals, notes the Canadian Coalition for Farm
Animals (CCFA).

Copies have been supplied to Canada's Minister of Agriculture, the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the Alberta Farm Animal
Care Association.
The Coalition is calling for a ban on the transport of nonambulatory
animals, and limits on the amount of time farmed animals can be
transported without water and food. It will also push the government
to initiate mandatory animal-handling training for slaughterplant
workers. [CCFA has also filed a complaint with CFIA seeking
prosecution in the case of an improperly stunned cow and a cow
who was electrically prodded.] The footage was to be shown at an
Ontario meat inspection review which was called for by legislators
after last summer's revelation that dead animals were allegedly being
processed for human consumption (see 4d of http://tinyurlcom/2vnlh ).
[The judge disallowed the video since none of the slaughter footage
was from the province.]

At the meat inspection review, Michael Draper, of the Ontario SPCA,
related concerns about animal welfare in licensed slaughterplants,
illegal ones, and during transport. He said there are hundreds of
illegal slaughter operations in Ontario. "There is no regard for
animal welfare in these operations," said Draper, "with dull knives,
axes and even screwdrivers being used to kill animals in very
unsanitary conditions. It's an organized commercial crime meeting a
demand for cheap meat." He said there are problems with licensed
operations, too (for example, see 4E of: http://tinyurl.com/2vnlh ).
Draper also noted that 50 serious transport violations occurred
between January 2000 and July 2003, with no action taken other than
"ineffectual" warning letters:
http://tinyurl.com/2kpd5

"Vivid Picture of Slaughterhouse Cruelty," The Toronto Star, Robert
Cribb, March 23, 2004.
http://tinyurl.com/yps26 or
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1079997008948&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
"Underbelly of Canadian Livestock Transport Exposed in Shocking New
Video," Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals press release, March 2,
2004.

IN THE U.K., on March 26th, Grampian Country Chickens pled guilty to
causing the unnecessary suffering of 2,486 chickens. The birds died
of heat stress last July while traveling 13 miles to slaughter on a
truck carrying 5,500 chickens when the temperature reached 82 F. (28
C.). Four earlier journeys that day had resulted in some 1,370
chickens dying from heat. The company said ordinarily 3 or 4 birds
would die while in transit. A council member said the death rate
indicated a serious disregard for the birds' welfare and the law.
Grampian said steps have been taken to prevent it from happening
again, such as employing weather forecasts and altering catching
patterns so birds are not caught in the summer during the hottest
part of the day. The company was fined £4,000 ($7,374).

"Poultry Firm Fined for Chicken Cruelty," East Anglian Daily Times,
Liz Hernshaw, March 27, 2004. http://tinyurl.com/2ojnq or

IN VIRGINIA, on March 29th, a truck carrying more than 100 pigs to a
Smithfield slaughterplant overturned in Virginia, killing about 25
pigs, injuring others and the driver, and backing up traffic for 4
hours. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA), the accident threw most of the pigs into a field, where many
lay unable to move. Smithfield officials rejected an offer from PETA
to help euthanize severely injured pigs. Per PETA, the state
veterinarian refused to come out and help, and only after company
officials spent more than 2 hours attempting to capture other pigs
did they begin euthanizing the injured ones. A captive bolt gun
reportedly malfunctioned, resulting in at least one pig having to be
repeatedly shot. The driver was charged with reckless driving. No
cruelty charges were filed against the driver or company.
Photos are available on the site below and along with a more detailed
account
at: http://www.peta.org/feat/smithfieldaccident


"25 Pigs Killed When Truck Overturns," The Virginian-Pilot, Linda
Mcnatt, March 30, 2004.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=68164&ran=50066


IN NORTH CAROLINA, a truck carrying a load of pigs to a Smithfield
slaughterplant overturned on March 2nd when the driver attempted to
bypass a detour.
Maneuvering around two sets of barricades and ignoring several
warning signs, the driver took a turn and ended up in a ditch before
the truck turned over, spilling the pigs out and injuring several.
Traffic was blocked for hours while pigs were rounded up with
electric prods and portable fencing. Another truck took the pigs to
slaughter, and the driver was charged with driving around a
barricade.

"Hog Truck Overturns in Bladenboro," Bladen Journal, Jefferson
Weaver, March 2, 2004.
http://www.bladenjournal.com/articles/2004/03/02/news/news01.txt


IN NEW ZEALAND, a cow leapt to her death from the top of a two-tier
United Carriers truck traveling at about 100 km(60 miles)/hr on State
Highway One last Sunday. George Beasley, traveling in a car behind
the truck, said the cow hit the road head-first and rolled off to the
side. The flying cow could easily have caused a human fatality, he
said. "It definitely didn't die straight away - it was still kicking
and doing its death throes. It was going to die anyway but it should
have been put out of its misery," Beasley stated. The cow was still
at the side of the road 5 hours later.

"Cow Jumps to Death from Moving Stock Truck," Northern Advocate
(Whangarei), March 30, 2004. http://tinyurl.com/2orsg

Farmed Animal Watch, N.44, V.2 

=====
Fidyl
Live Simply So That
Others May Simply Live



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