Farmer John

I took this photo on July 11th in front of the Farmer John Slaughterhouse in Los Angeles. Inside the walls of this massive industrial compound pigs are slaughtered in high volume. The pigs live in confinement in filthy overcrowded facilities and are brought there in trucks. They are unloaded behind the walls of the Farmer John facility. The slaughter involves shooting them in their heads with a bolt gun. This is to stun the pigs. There is an article online that reports of a time where a pig wasn’t restrained properly, wasn’t stunned, and had to be shot multiple times. The article also mentions that a bolt had to be removed from a pig’s head. They did not have a backup gun ready. After they are stunned, they are then hung and their throats are slit. The last stage is being lowered into boiling water. Considering the high volume and assembly line approach used at this facility, I can only imagine the horrors that take place inside. The Food Safety and Inspection Service enforce the Humane Slaughter, which is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Humane Slaughter basically just requires the pigs to be stunned prior to the actual slaughter. I have mentioned before that because of the Twenty Eight Hour Law the pigs can be transported up to 28 hours without food or water. Twenty-eight hours can be extended to 36 hours with owner consent. The time can also exceed 28 hours if there are accidental causes that could not be anticipated or avoided. Factory Farming spends a lot of money to keep things moving, business as usual. This campaign is about giving the pigs protection from this cruelty. We are doing so by calling on Congressman Brad Sherman, a well-known Los Angeles Congressman. Pigs should never be deprived of food or water. They should never be subjected to living in confinement. They need to have space to move around and be social with one another, with exposure to open air and sunlight. They should be provided straw to use for their beds. They should never be subjected to any form of physical abuse. I am completely against slaughtering the pigs, but if it is going to be done, do not allow the pigs to see and hear each other being stunned or slaughtered. Make sure it is done quickly without fear and pain. It’s really sad that we have to campaign to grant the pigs these basic rights that every animal should naturally be given under the law. Thank you again. Your comments are excellent. I am very thankful to have so many great people participating in this campaign. We just need to keeping growing our numbers.