2019—the Year of the Pig—is upon us. But instead of honoring our porcine friends, the USDA is plowing ahead with a dangerous, cruel plan to expand high-speed pig slaughter nationwide. Help us keep the pressure on the agency to end its high-speed horrors: Tweet today!

Compassion Over Killing’s 2015 investigation of Quality Pork Processors, a Hormel Foods supplier and a plant considered a model for the USDA’s high-speed slaughter pilot program, revealed pigs being shocked, dragged, and pulled to the kill floor; pigs covered in feces and pus-filled abscesses processed for human consumption with a USDA seal of approval; and much more. COK has since hand-delivered over a quarter million of your signatures against high-speed slaughter to the USDA’s headquarters.

Yet the USDA is still moving forward with plans to expand cruel high-speed pig slaughter nationwide. And now Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Administrator Carmen Rottenberg has announced that the agency is prepping a proposal to expand high-speed chicken slaughter across the board, too, despite the fact that such a proposal has already been rejected by the agency—twice.

COK’s shocking recent investigation of high-speed chicken slaughter plant Amick Farms further revealed just how dangerous this program is for animals and workers alike. Our investigator documented birds being punched, shoved, and thrown down the recklessly fast-paced kill line, as well as “red birds” with blood seen under their skin—evidence that they were scalded alive. Workers at high-speed plants are forced to take inhumane and dangerous shortcuts to maintain the fast pace, often causing harm to themselves in the process too. Working at Amick even for just a short time, our investigator’s knuckles were swollen and hands were in constant pain.

The USDA can make 2019 the year for pigs—and birds—by putting the brakes on these high-speed horrors. Make your voice heard TODAY: Click here to tweet at the agency or use our sample below!

SAMPLE TWEET: For #YearofthePig, join @TryVeg & me in urging @USDAFoodSafety to protect millions of pigs against the worst suffering at the slaughterhouse. It’s 2019 and time to put the brakes on cruel high-speed slaughter! NotSoFastUSDA.com