Cow Beaten, Kicked, Electroshocked at Chinook Slaughterhouse/Bear Paw Meat LLC; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
May 12, 2026
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
A newly obtained U.S. Department of Agriculture report reveals that a worker at Bear Paw Meat LLC near Chinook beat, kicked, and repeatedly electroshocked a cow , prompting PETA to send a letter today calling on Blaine County Attorney Kelsie W. Harwood to investigate and, as appropriate, bring criminal cruelty-to-animals charges against the worker responsible.
According to the report, on October 8, 2025, a Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector saw the worker “poised above a black bovine within [a] concrete chute trying to drive the bovine” toward slaughter. The inspector saw the worker electroshock the animal approximately seven times and kick the animal about four times on the back and hips. The federal inspector also saw the worker “raise an orange rattle paddle above his head and shoulders and hit the animal several times in the hip and tail area.”
“At this miserable slaughterhouse, an animal already facing a violent and terrifying death was relentlessly beaten, kicked, and electroshocked until they cried out,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “Cows feel pain and fear just as humans do, and PETA is calling for a criminal investigation into this violence and urges everyone to go vegan to help spare other animals from suffering in slaughterhouses.”
PETA is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a cow is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Harwood follows.
May 12, 2026
The Honorable Kelsie W. Harwood
Blaine County Attorney
Dear Ms. Harwood:
I’m writing to request that your office (and a law-enforcement agency, as necessary) file applicable criminal charges against the Bear Paw Meat LLC employee responsible for beating, kicking, and repeatedly electroshocking a bovine animal last October at 760 Ninth St., outside Chinook.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in a report that the agency recently made available to the public. (See attachment.) According to the report, on October 8, 2025, an FSIS inspector saw the suspect “poised above a black bovine within [a] concrete chute trying to drive the bovine” toward slaughter.
The inspector saw the suspect electroshock the animal “approximately seven times” and kick him or her about four times on the back and hips. In response, the animal called out. The FSIS inspector also saw the suspect “raise an orange rattle paddle above his head and shoulders and hit the animal several times in the hip and tail area.”
Please note that FSIS’ simple narrative of this incident carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals.
The conduct described above appears to violate Montana Code Annotated § 45-8-211. It hardly represents the “commonly accepted agricultural and livestock practices” otherwise exempt from prosecution. Montana law affords this victim his or her only chance at a small measure of legal recognition. We urge your office to seek it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Daniel Paden
Vice President of Legal Advocacy
cc: The Honorable John Colby, Sheriff of Blaine County, Blaine County Sheriff’s Office
