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USDA Inspector Allegedly Caught Ignoring Animal Abuse

Humane Society releases graphic footage of cows being brutalized

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 2, 2009

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On the heels of a Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) investigation that exposed brutal practices at a Vermont slaughter plant -- which led to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordering the plant closed -- HSUS has released graphic video footage showing cows being brutalized and mistreated by plant workers, while an unidentified USDA inspector appears to stand by and watch .

The video, taken by an HSUS investigator working undercover as a plant employee at Bushways Packing in Grand Isle, Vermont, shows plant workers attempting to skin sickly-looking calves while still alive and hitting them with electric prods. The plant's co-owner is allegedly identified as participating in the abuse, while the USDA inspector jokes with the workers that if another inspector had been present, "he'd have to shut them down."

The abuse of these infant calves is merciless," said Michael Markarian, HSUS chief operating officer. "There is no excuse for skinning animals alive and shocking them time after time with electric prods when it's obvious they are too weak to stand. We need stronger policies and better enforcement to prevent the inhumane treatment of these animals."

The USDA and Vermont regulators closed the plant on October 30 after the HSUS released preliminary details of its investigation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the footage was "deplorable" and "unequivocally unacceptable."

"The callous behavior and attitudes displayed in the video clearly appear to be violations of USDA's humane handling regulations," Vilsack said. "The behavior of FSIS and establishment personnel witnessed in this video is inexcusable."

Vilsack said the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which handles investigations of farms and plants, took immediate action against the unidentified inspector, though he did not specify what that action was. He also said the USDA Inspector General would be opening a criminal investigation into the incident.

The HSUS' exposure of the Bushways plant comes after a similar incident at the Hallmark Meat Packing Plant in Chino, California in February 2008. Another undercover HSUS investigator filmed plant employees prodding and pushing "downer" cows -- cows weak with disease -- to get them into the plant's slaughter process.

The investigation triggered a massive recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef due to fears that the uninspected animals contained "mad cow" disease or other possible illnesses.

The HSUS said that the Obama administration and the USDA, which recently banned the slaughter of adult downer cows, should tighten up all existing regulations to prevent slaughter of downer cows under any circumstances, and improve its procedures for training inspectors.

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