Crying Pig’s Throat Repeatedly Slashed After Botched Shooting; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
March 3, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
PETA has just obtained a disturbing U.S. Department of Agriculture report revealing the bungled killing of a pig at Sinton and Sons Local Meats and Provisions outside Paso Robles, so, this morning, PETA sent a letter to San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow urging him to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.
According to the report, on February 7, a federal inspector heard a pig being shot with a firearm and witnessed the pig kicking and screaming as a slaughterhouse worker cut the animal’s throat. The pig continued crying out and trying to stand up but was held down by the slaughterhouse owner and another worker, as a third worker cut the animal’s neck a second time. The conscious, struggling pig’s throat was then slashed a third time, after which the pig was left to bleed to death. Approximately two and a half minutes elapsed between the initial shot and the third cut.
“A pig was shot in the head and slashed over and over across the throat while fully conscious and crying at Sinton and Sons,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this pig, who felt pain and fear just as humans do, and urges everyone to help prevent animals from suffering in slaughterhouses by please going vegan.”
When they are not tormented in the meat industry, pigs spend hours playing, lying in the sun, and exploring their surroundings with their powerful sense of smell. 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 Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free vegan starter kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Dow follows.
March 3, 2025
The Honorable Dan Dow
District Attorney
San Luis Obispo County
Dear Mr. Dow:
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 Sinton and Sons Local Meats and Provisions workers responsible for shooting a pig and then repeatedly cutting the conscious, suffering animal’s throat on February 7 at its slaughterhouse located at 9050 Gravel Rd. outside Paso Robles. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:
[T]he Consumer Safety Inspector and Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian were standing in the designated safety zone and heard [the slaughterhouse manager/owner] yell “fire” to indicate that the stunner … would be administering a gunshot in order to stun a market hog and render [the animal] insensible … utiliz[ing] a .30 caliber rifle. After hearing the shot, IPP [FSIS inspection program personnel] immediately advanced to the end of the alley way and observed the hog on [his/her] side as [a] … Harvest Unit Employee … was making a cut in the neck to facilitate bleeding. In response to the cut, the hog began squealing and kicking [his/her] front and back limbs while in lateral recumbency. [The slaughterhouse manager/owner] and [an employee] then began to physically restrain the hog with both hands in order to hold [the animal] down. The hog then attempted to right [himself/herself] by placing [his/her] legs under [his/her] body, but was unable to rise. [An employee] then proceeded to make a second cut into the neck region and the hog squealed, rolling onto [his/her] sternum and again attempting to rise and stand. [The slaughterhouse manager/owner] and [redacted] continued to physically restrain the hog as [the animal] attempted to stand, and proceeded to make a third cut into the neck region of the animal. This third cut finally led to the animal losing consciousness and [the animal] stopped vocalizing and moving. IPP determined that the animal was dead. Approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds passed between the first stunning attempt and the third cut made on the animal.1
This conduct appears to violate California Penal Code § 597(b). 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 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 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
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/M40268A-NOS-02072025.pdf. Last accessed February 27, 2025.
2See 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.”).
