For Immediate Release:
February 25, 2005

Contact:
Bruce Friedrich 757-622-7382   

Norfolk, Va. — PETA has launched a nationwide advertising campaign against AgriProcessors—the Postville, Iowa-based kosher slaughterhouse behind Iowa’s Best Beef, Rubashkin’s, and Aaron’s Best meat products—following the company’s repeated denials of wrongdoing in the face of condemnation by experts around the world of the company’s slaughtering practices.

The ad reads, "CRUELTY UNCOVERED: Is ‘Aaron’s Best’ Kosher’s Worst?" and shows a picture of a cow who is being prepped for slaughter, which was obtained during PETA’s undercover investigation of the plant last year. The ad, which points out the discrepancies between AgriProcessors’ claims and the testimony of every expert who has commented on the video footage—including several rabbis—will debut in Los Angeles on Friday and will run in Jewish and standard newspapers and other publications coast to coast.

The massive ad campaign will continue until AgriProcessors agrees to implement humane standards and a plan for unannounced audits by a reputable auditor.

PETA’s undercover investigator videotaped workers at the plant who were ripping the tracheas and esophagi out of the throats of fully conscious cows and improperly slaughtering them with the result that many were still attempting to stand three minutes after their throats were slit.

AgriProcessors is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and PETA has called on local authorities to prosecute officials at the plant under Iowa’s anti-cruelty statute.

"Millions of people buy kosher meat because they believe that it is more in keeping with the age-old Jewish tradition of treating animals kindly," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We’re confident that when AgriProcessors’ customers learn about the atrocities taking place at the plant, they’ll demand accountability by the company and the agencies that certify its products as kosher."

Broadcast-quality footage of animal slaughter at AgriProcessors is available. For more information and to view the video footage, please visit GoVeg.com.