CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

history of u.s. humane slaughter initiatives
1996 Dr. Temple Grandin conducts an audit of 24 federal slaughter plants
in 10 states for the USDA. She finds only 30 percent of plants able to
effectively stun 95 percent or more of cattle with one shot of captive
bolt gun, as required by federal humane slaughter law. 32
1997 USDA Technical Services Center staff conducts an audit of humane
slaughter and ante-mortem inspection procedures at 61 federal livestock
slaughter plants. It finds incidents of inhumane handling at 21 percent
of the plants and excessive time between stunning and bleeding at 56
percent of plants. 33
A judge in trial of London activists for libeling McDonald’s
Corporation finds the fast food giant “culpably responsible for cruel
practices in the rearing and slaughter of some of the animals which are
used to produce [its] food.” The judge finds that some chickens endure
rough handling before slaughter and have their throats cut while still
conscious. 34
Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane
Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry, by humane investigator Gail
Eisnitz, is published.
1998 The USDA begins a 2-year phase-in of a new food safety monitoring
program, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Under
HACCP, the slaughter industry is given increased authority for selfoversight
and procedural code for tracking humane slaughter violations
is eliminated. 35
Current and former USDA food safety inspectors testify at a news
conference that slaughterhouses routinely ignore humane slaughter law
and butcher still-conscious animals to keep production lines moving. 36
Representative George E. Brown, Jr. (D-CA), sponsor of 1978
legislation to strengthen enforcement of Humane Methods of Slaughter
Act, sends a letter to then-USDA Secretary Dan Glickman, urging
him to “take whatever actions are necessary to ensure the prompt and
effective enforcement” of the law. 37
32 Grandin T, Survey of stunning and handling in Federally inspected beef, veal, pork, and sheep slaughter
plants, 1997. (http://www.grandin.com/survey/usdarpt.html)
33 USDA-FSIS, Special survey on humane slaughter and ante-mortem inspection, March 1998. (http://www.fsis.
usda.gov/oa/pubs/antemort.pdf)
34 The “McLibel” verdict, which was issued in June 1997, can be accessed at http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/
trial/verdict/summary.html.
35 USDA-FSIS, Pathogen reduction; hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) systems; final rule,
Federal Register [, Vol. 61, No. 144, July 25, 1996, pp. 38805-38855.
36 Vorman J, USDA inspector claims cattle, pigs often brutalized, Reuters, April 2, 1998.
37 Krizner K, Congressman demands enforcement of humane slaughter legislation, Daily News, April 14, 1998.
23