Video of Struggling Cow Dropped Into Dumpster Prompts Call for Cruelty Investigation
PETA Asks County Officials to Take Action After Deadly Truck Crash
For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2016
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
This morning, PETA sent a letter asking Weber County’s sheriff and attorney to launch an investigation and file charges if warranted against those responsible for a disturbing incident on Monday that a bystander reportedly caught on camera: After a speeding truck carrying approximately 80 cattle crashed in Riverdale, one obviously injured and struggling live cow was apparently dropped by a front loader into a dump truck.
“Cows suffer every time they’re packed into a crowded truck bound for slaughter, but the animals on this truck endured especially terrifying, painful deaths,” says PETA Director Stephanie Bell. “PETA is calling for a full investigation and charges as warranted against the workers who evidently dropped a living, struggling animal into a dump truck like a piece of garbage.”
In the letter, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that officials do not currently know the dumped cow’s whereabouts. An estimated 70 other cows were reportedly killed by the crash or in the aftermath.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA’s letter to Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson and Attorney Christopher F. Allred follows.
January 29, 2016
To: Sheriff Terry Thompson, Weber County Sheriff’s Office
The Honorable Christopher F. Allred, Weber County Attorney
From: Kent Stein, Cruelty Caseworker II, PETA
Re: Cattle truck crash in Riverdale
Greetings from PETA.
News sources indicate that on January 25 in Riverdale a truck carrying approximately 80 cows overturned while entering Interstate 84, killing most of the animals. While we realize that hurriedly addressing major accident scenes poses distinct challenges to responders, an incident that reportedly followed during cleanup was wholly unjustifiable. As you may know, video footage, evidently shot by observers, shows a front loader dropping a still alive, obviously injured, and struggling cow some 10 feet into an awaiting dump truck, very likely injuring her further before she was hauled off to whereabouts alarmingly unknown to officials.
Such an act cannot by any measure be considered “accepted animal husbandry or customary farming practice.” Respectfully, we ask that this matter be investigated and that those responsible be criminally charged, if warranted. May we please hear from you soon?
Thank you for the difficult work that you do.
Sincerely,
Kent Stein
Cruelty Caseworker II
Cruelty Investigations Department
