WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture should tighten regulations for transporting and slaughtering veal calves to ensure they are not treated cruelly, says the Humane Society of the United States.
The group petitioned the USDA to expand an existing regulation to ban the slaughter of veal calves that cannot stand on their own and said it wants the USDA to put a new ban on transporting calves younger than 10 days.
Federal inspectors also need more training and should spend more time ensuring animals are treated humanely, the group said after releasing more video footage from an undercover investigation at a Vermont veal plant.
Read Also
Land crash warning rejected
A technical analyst believes that Saskatchewan land values could be due for a correction, but land owners and FCC say supply/demand fundamentals drive land prices – not mathematical models
Federal and state officials shut down the Bushway Packing Inc. plant in Grand Isle, Vermont, Oct. 30 because of the footage, which showed calves repeatedly shocked with electric prods and kicked to get them to stand up.
Specialized product
Veal calves, which produce beef prized for its tenderness, are typically slaughtered when they are about 500 pounds, but the Vermont plant specialized in “bob veal” from calves as young as a few days old.
The Humane Society alleges animals at the Vermont plant were not adequately stunned before slaughter. It said its footage shows a plant owner participating in the abuse.
“We have him on tape wielding the (prod) with recklessness and repetition, and setting an example of cruelty and callousness for the rest of his employees,” said society chief operating officer Michael Markarian.
The group said its footage shows a USDA inspector turning a blind eye to the abuse.
“This is animal abuse of the most sickening kind and it should not be tolerated at any federally inspected slaughter plant,” Markarian said.
The USDA said its Food Safety and Inspection Service took “immediate action with respect to its employee.”
Government officials are now conducting their own investigation.
The U.S. finalized a ban on downer cattle from the meat supply earlier this year, but the regulation allows plants to set apart and treat veal calves that are tired or cold under USDA supervision – an exception the Humane Society said should end.
