The USDA has just revealed that by this time next month, slaughterhouses nationwide could get the green light to recklessly speed up slaughter lines, endangering animals, workers, and consumers alike. TAKE ACTION TODAY: Call the agency at 202-720-9113 (using our sample script below) and tell it, “Not so fast!”
Compassion Over Killing’s 2015 investigation of a model plant for the expansion of the USDA’s high-speed slaughter program documented pigs being cruelly shocked, dragged, and improperly stunned, as well as pigs covered in feces or pus-filled abscesses processed for human consumption. And our recent investigation of high-speed chicken slaughter plant Amick Farms revealed birds being punched, shoved, and thrown down the recklessly fast-paced kill line, and other birds slowly drowned in electrified stunning baths during equipment breakdowns.
Yet the USDA has yet to admit the disastrous effects of running kill lines at recklessly fast speeds of up to 175 birds slaughtered every minute and up to 1,300 pigs slaughtered every hour--or one pig every 5 seconds.
Last week, the New York Times’ editorial board took a formal stance against this catastrophic program, writing that “the government — rather astonishingly — has maintained the pilot program for two decades without proving that it works.”
Pigs, chickens, and other animals killed for food already endure a life of suffering from the moment they are born until their violent deaths at the slaughterhouse. The USDA has a responsibility not to exacerbate this abuse--and put consumer and worker safety on the line--under the guise of “modernization” of slaughter.
TAKE ACTION TODAY: Call the USDA at 202-720-9113 and urge it to put the brakes on high-speed slaughter! Use our our sample below (or your own polite message), and don’t forget to email campaigns@cok.net to let us know how your call went. Thank you for your compassion.
SAMPLE SCRIPT:
Hello. My name is _____, and I am calling as a concerned consumer to urge you to put the brakes on cruel, dangerous high-speed pig slaughter. A 2015 Compassion Over Killing investigation of high-speed pig slaughter plant Quality Pork Processors documented pigs being shocked, dragged, and improperly stunned, as well as pigs covered in feces or pus-filled abscesses processed for human consumption--with a USDA inspection seal of approval. Please don’t increase animal suffering--and put workers and consumer safety on the line--under the guise of “modernization” of slaughter. Thank you.