Lamb Forcefully Thrown Against Fence; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
July 28, 2021
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
PETA has obtained a U.S. Department of Agriculture report revealing a recent violation of law at Ali International Inc., a slaughterhouse outside Orlando. In response, the group sent a letter this morning to State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Monique Worrell calling on her to review the matter and, as appropriate, file criminal cruelty-to-animals charges against a worker who threw a lamb “with force” against a metal fence at the facility. The animal landed on a concrete floor, causing—according to the report—“unnecessary pain and suffering.” The same worker then cut the lamb’s throat.
“This disturbing report reveals some of the pain and fear that this gentle lamb endured in her final moments at Ali International,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of the lamb who suffered at this facility and urging all compassionate members of the public who are disturbed by this cruelty to go vegan and help prevent more animals from suffering in slaughterhouses.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. The group notes that sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just as humans do, and that the best way to help prevent them from suffering in slaughterhouses is not to eat them.
For more information, visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Worrell follows.
July 28, 2021
The Honorable Monique Worrell
State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit
Dear Ms. Worrell,
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 Ali International Inc. and the worker who forcefully threw a lamb against a metal fence, causing the animal unnecessary pain and suffering, on July 1 at its slaughterhouse located at 1616 S. Dean Rd. outside of Orlando. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:
[FSIS] Inspection Program Personnel … observed an employee pick up a conscious lamb and throw [the animal] with force against a metal fence inside the animal holding area. The lamb bounced off the fence and landed on [his or her] side on the concrete floor causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the animal. The same employee immediately picked the animal up and laid [the animal] on the blood pit area where [his or her] throat was cut1 [emphasis added] …The suspect’s throwing of this lamb appears to violate F.S.A. § 828.12. Importantly, FSIS action does not preempt criminal liability under state law for slaughterhouse workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals.2
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
Assistant Manager of Investigations
1FSIS District 85 Manager Dr. Phyllis Adams, Notice of Suspension, Ali International Inc. (July 2, 2021) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-07/M11113-NOS-07022021.pdf.
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.”).
