Thursday, June 26, 2008

More Allegations of Abuse

Humane Society releases video of cattle being abused

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The group whose undercover slaughterhouse video prompted the largest beef recall in U.S. history in February alleged on Wednesday that cattle continue to be abused, this time at livestock auctions.

The Humane Society of the United States, an animal rights group, said a new investigation discovered dairy cattle being abused in May at a livestock auction in New Mexico. The group said an investigator watched three cows and calves "being mistreated and tormented in order to get them to stand and walk" into an auction ring in Portales. The group said state inspectors "were present at the auctions and apparently saw much of the abuse."

At the group's headquarters, president Wayne Pacelle played for reporters a short video that showed a stockyard worker kicking a cow, another cow struggling to pull itself forward by its front legs and another being dragged by a hind leg with a chain attached to a Bobcat-type tractor.

A meat industry trade association condemned the handling practices shown in the video, calling them "simply inexplicable." Read More

The release of another video showing sale barn workers mis-handling livestock serves as yet another reminder that HSUS will continue to try eliminating animal agriculture by searching all over the United States for these isolated cases. The actions taken by these employees cannot be defended which is why everyone of us involved in animal agriculture need to do our part to make sure no more videos get released.

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