USDA closes California slaughterhouse over cow cruelty video
By Mary Slosson | Reuters – Tue, Aug 21, 2012
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down a slaughterhouse in California’s central agricultural heartland because of a graphic video showing cows being mistreated during the slaughtering process, officials and activists said on Tuesday.
The agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement that it was conducting an investigation and that inhumane treatment of animals was unacceptable.
“Upon confirming several humane handling violations, (the Food Safety and Inspection Service) suspended operations at the facility and is prepared to take further action as warranted by the investigation,” the statement said.
The plant was shut down on Sunday, the USDA said, and several teams of investigators were sent to California.
Video of the facility posted online by activist group Compassion Over Killing, shows cows at the Central Valley Meat Company flailing wildly as they are dragged by one leg on a conveyor belt on their way to be slaughtered.
Video shows other lame, sick former dairy cows being shot in the head multiple times and struggling before they die. In one portion of the video, a worker stands on a cow’s nostrils to kill it after the cow is shot in the head.
The video also shows cows that appear to have difficulty standing being electrically prodded to walk on their way to slaughter. The USDA does not allow cows that cannot stand on their own to enter the food supply.
The USDA said in a statement after activists posted the video online that footage provided to them did not show a “downer” cow entering the food supply, but added they would investigate food safety as well as humane treatment issues.
The farm, based 30 miles south of Fresno in rural Hanford, supplies meat to the National School Lunch Program, according to the activist group.
California-based fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger immediately suspended its relationship with the farm after hearing of the investigation, the company’s chief operating officer, Mark Taylor, said in a statement.
“Central Valley Meat was one of several companies that supplied the beef chucks we use to make our hamburger patties,” he said. “As soon as we became aware of the allegations regarding Central Valley Meat Company and their handling of cattle, we immediately severed our supplier relationship with them.”
Central Valley Meat Company said in a statement emailed to Reuters that it was “extremely disturbed” to find it was suspended because of a third-party video, but noted it would cooperate fully with the USDA investigation.
“We take these allegations seriously and we are committed to correcting any problems identified on the video as quickly as we can,” the company said, adding that it had retained an outside animal welfare expert to conduct an internal investigation.
An undercover activist shot the video at the farm in June and July, the animal rights group said.
In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States captured employees of a California meatpacking plant in Chino torturing cattle and processing the unfit animals for human consumption in a gruesome undercover videotape.
That video’s release led to the record recall of nearly 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of meat by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company.
(Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)
황수현기자 sooh@hk.co.kr
출처 : 한국일보 입력시간 : 2012.08.22 21:07:09 수정시간 : 2012.08.23 08:54:09
http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/world/201208/h2012082221070922470.htm
미국캘리포니아주 핸퍼드에 있는 도축장에서 소가 쇠사슬에 거꾸로 묶여 발버둥 치고 있다. 센트럴밸리미트가 운영하는 이 도축장에서 광우병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소를 비인도적 방식으로 도축했다는 의혹이 제기돼 미 농무부가 조사에 나섰다. 핸퍼드=AP=연합뉴스
미국 캘리포니아의 도축장에서 광우병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소(다우너 소)를 도축했다는 의혹이 제기됐다. 미 농무부(USDA)는 즉시 도축장을 폐쇄하고 조사에 착수했다.
미 abc 방송은 캘리포니아주 핸퍼드에 있는 센트럴밸리미트사가 앉은뱅이 소를 비인도적 방식으로 도축하는 영상이 공개됐다고 20일 보도했다. 동물복지단체 컴패션 오버 킬링이 2주에 걸쳐 비밀 촬영한 영상에는 도축장 직원이 걷지 못하는 소를 전기봉으로 지지거나 누워 있는 소의 주둥이를 발로 밟는 장면이 나온다.
소가 걷지 못하는 이유가 질병에 감염됐기 때문인지 학대를 당해서인지는 알려지지 않았으나 이 단체는 질병 감염 가능성이 있는 앉은뱅이 소가 도축됐을 수 있다고 의혹을 제기했다.
에리카 메이어 대표는 영상과 관련해 “가축 학대 및 식품 안전이 우려된다”고 말했다. 센트럴밸리미트는 미 공립학교 점심 급식과 유명 햄버거 체인인 인앤아웃 버거에 쇠고기를 공급하고 있어 논란은 더욱 커질 전망이다.
그러나 이 도축장에서 도축된 소가 질병에 감염됐다는 증거는 아직 없어 농무부는 쇠고기 리콜 명령은 내리지 않았다. 농무부는 이날 “비인도적인 가축취급규정 위반 행위를 여러 건 확인해 해당 도축장을 잠정 폐쇄했으며 조사 결과에 따라 추가 조치를 취하겠다”고 밝혔다.
이 소식이 알려지자 인앤아웃 측은 즉시 이 도축장과의 거래를 중단했다. 센트럴밸리미트 측은 성명을 내고 “(농무부의) 조사에 진지하게 임할 것이며 문제가 드러나면 최대한 신속히 수정하겠다”고 밝혔다.
미국에서는 2008년 동물복지단체 휴메인 소사이어티가 웨스트랜드 홀마크의 앉은뱅이 소 도축 영상을 공개해 6만4,000여톤의 쇠고기가 리콜되고 이듬해 연방정부가 앉은뱅이 소의 도축 및 유통을 전면 금지하는 조치로 이어진 바 있다.
