Slaughterhouses Face Scrutiny for Appalling Violations

PETA Calls for Investigations After Workers at Cabin Hollow and Kistler’s Butcher Shops Skin Conscious Cow, Slit Improperly Stunned Cow’s Throat

For Immediate Release:
April 16, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

PETA has obtained U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports from last month revealing egregious violations of federal law at Cabin Hollow Butcher Shop and Kistler’s Butcher Shop. In response, PETA sent letters today calling on York and Perry counties’ district attorneys to investigate the respective slaughterhouses for apparent violations of the state’s cruelty-to-animals statute and, as appropriate, file criminal charges against the facilities and the workers responsible for the animals’ suffering.

According to the reports, on March 16, an inspector suspended operations at Cabin Hollow Butcher Shop after workers began skinning the head of a cow who was conscious and cried out. Additionally, staff at Kistler’s Butcher Shop were seen using an electric prod on a cow 10 to 12 times in an attempt to move the animal into the stun box on March 6, and on March 20, staff ineffectively shot a cow with a shotgun before cutting the animal’s throat, after which the cow began moving and then cried out.

“These disturbing revelations show that animals suffered immensely within the walls of Cabin Hollow and Kistler’s,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling on local authorities to investigate these inept slaughters and throw the book at those responsible for subjecting conscious cows to prolonged, agonizing deaths.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that other animals have a central nervous system and sense of self-preservation, just as humans do, and that the only way to prevent cows, pigs, chickens, and others from suffering in slaughterhouses is to go vegan.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.