Worker Slashes Throat of Conscious Pig at Lake County Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
June 10, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Lake County, Ind. –

A newly obtained U.S. Department of Agriculture report reveals that a worker at Ruwaldt Packing Co. in Hobart cut the throat of a still-conscious pig, prompting PETA to send a letter today calling on Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter to investigate and, as appropriate, bring criminal cruelty-to-animals charges against the worker responsible.

According to the report, on May 20, a Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector saw a pig lying in the slaughterhouse’s “blood pit”—a drainage area situated beneath the “kill floor.” After the pig stood up and began walking around, a worker came over and stabbed the animal in the throat without making any attempt to render the animal unconscious first, causing the pig to bleed to death.

“At this miserable slaughterhouse, a pig managed to stand up in a blood pit only to have a worker slash their throat while they were still conscious,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this animal and urges everyone to help prevent animals from suffering in slaughterhouses by please going vegan.”

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 pig 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 Carter follows.

June 10, 2026

The Honorable Bernard A. Carter

Lake County Prosecutor

Dear Mr. Carter:

I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to request that your office (and the proper local law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against the Ruwaldt Packing Co. worker responsible for cutting a conscious pig’s throat on May 20 at its slaughterhouse located at 6510 E. Ridge Rd. in Hobart. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:

The [FSIS consumer safety inspector] observed a … hog lying in the blood pit. She then observed the hog get up and start walking around. Once the hog got up, one of the establishment employees came over and stuck the conscious animal to bleed [the animal] out. No attempt was made to stun the hog, and [the animal] lost consciousness from exsanguination.^[1]

This conduct appears to violate Ind. Code § 35-46-3-12. Importantly, FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for slaughterhouse workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals.^[2] Given that the FSIS has not initiated a criminal prosecution of a licensed slaughterhouse for inhumane handling since at least 2007, charges under state law are this victim’s only chance at a small measure of justice.

Please let us know what we might do to assist you. Thank you for your consideration and for the difficult work that you do.

Sincerely,

Colin Henstock

Associate Director of Project Strategy

^[1]FSIS District Manager Dr. Kelsey Travis, Notice of Suspension, Ruwaldt Packing Co. (May 20, 2026) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/M5502-NOS-05202026.pdf. Last accessed June 10, 2026.

^[2]See Nat’l. Meat Assoc. v. Harris, 132 S. Ct. 965, 974 n.10 (2012) (“States may exact civil or criminal penalties for animal cruelty or other conduct that also violates the [Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA)]. See [21 U.S.C.] §678; cf. Bates v. Dow Agrosciences, LLC, 544 U.S. 431, 447 (2005), holding that a preemption clause barring state laws ‘in addition to or different’ from a federal Act does not interfere with an ‘equivalent’ state provision. Although the FMIA preempts much state law involving slaughterhouses, it thus leaves some room for the States to regulate.”).