Undercover Video Shows Abuse Of Sick Cows
USDA Begins Investigation To Discover If "Downer Cows" May Have Ended Up In School Lunches
-
Play CBS Video
Video
Abuse At Calif. Slaughterhouse
The Agriculture Department has said it will investigate animal abuse at a California slaughterhouse. It was prompted by undercover video shot by the Humane Society. Nancy Cordes reports.
-
-
Photo
Undercover video shows sickened cows, too weak to walk, being jabbed with forklift blades, kicked, shocked and even sprayed in the face with powerful jets of water by workers at the Hallmark Meat Packing Company in Chino, Calif. (CBS/The Humane Society)
-
Photo
Undercover video shows sickened cows, too weak to walk, being jabbed with forklift blades, kicked, shocked and even sprayed in the face with powerful jets of water by workers at the Hallmark Meat Packing Company in Chino, Calif. (CBS/The Humane Society)
-
-
Quiz
Food Safety Quiz
Are your kitchen habits endangering you and your loved ones?
"The attempt was to make them so distressed, to cause them so much suffering that these animals would get up and walk into the slaughterhouse," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle told CBS News consumer safety correspondent Nancy Cordes.
The plant supplies Westland Meat Company, which is a major provider of meat to the USDA's school lunch program.
Wednesday, Westland's president and CEO temporarily suspended operations at the plant saying, "We are shocked, saddened and sickened by what we have seen."
"Downer cows" - those unable to walk because of illness or injury - are restricted from use in school lunches and elsewhere.
Cordes reports that meat-industry officials say there is no way to know if the cows actually entered the meat supply. They point out that the clearly ailing livestock would have had to pass a gauntlet of USDA veterinarians and inspectors before being slaughtered and sent to market.
Nevertheless, the USDA today stopped Westland from supplying meat to federal food and nutrition programs pending the outcome of its investigation.
And while the workers in this video have been fired, the Humane Society says the most shocking thing about the abuse shown here is that it happens all the time.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Video and Galleries from CBS Evening News
-
Video
Notebook: Stimulus
-
Video
Karl Malden, 1912-2009
-
Video
Evening News Online, 07.08.09
- Latest in CBS Evening News
- The Story Behind the Skating Babies
- Sagging Sales, Even in a Beach Paradise
- Grief, Outrage over Grave Desecrations
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- next
See all 189 CommentsI hope everyone that eats meat enjoys knowing it was from a cow that was sooooooooo sick they could not even stand up! Maybe that is where cancer comes from.
Watch the video....Meet your Meat
and anyone with any compasion at all won''t eat meat any longer
Wise up america!
Westland/Hallmark Meat Pkg.
13677 Yorba Ave.
Chino, Ca. 91710
909-591-0163
I was unable to locate an e-mail and when I called them they gave me bogus addresses..go figure. I, also registered just because of this segment.
I am not an animal rights freak. I believe that animals have the right however, to a humane and kind life and a humane death. I do challenge all the so called animal rights groups, the United States Humane Society, the slaughterhouse packing industry etc. to clean up slaughterhouses. I am shocked that in the state of California such treatment of animals exists. Isn''t California supposed to be the land of enlightment? Where were the owners of this plant? Where was the supervision? Where was the the Department of Agriculture? AND where are these poor bovine souls now? They did not deserve to die this way. In a sense, we Americans are to blame for allowing factory farming. A good farmer, and I mean a good farmer would never have allowed this to happen. Factory business farmers to factory business death...we have allowed our living creatures to become "products". It is a sad commentary on us as Americans. As Gandhi said, "A nation shall be judged by the treatment of its animals". How ironic, we condemn certain African, South American and Asian countries for treatment of their people and animals; and yet in the great state of California and around the USA this tragedy unfolds daily.
'' .. thanks for the lecture on the waring ways of real little girls, i''ll be sure whenever i bouquet your family to bouquet them the way a real little girl should .. ''
'' .. y''all gonna be building those monoliths of social stagnation and ecological havoc while the virtual world is building recyclable homes with wings dominoed out of test tubegarden algae and fungus .. ''
Over 15 years ago, my daughter sent me photos and stories about these unfortune cows who couldn''t walk because they were injured when they were shipped, or because of years of standing on concrete stalls. One cow was left in the hot sun for days. No food or water. She was baying for someone to help her and she tried to drag herself away from her urine and feces she was forced to lay in! I haven''t eaten meat since that time and her pathetic story still haunts me!
Everyone who wants something done about these horror stories, should call their representatives and demand that more inspectors be hired! I plan on calling both the plant and the governor of California. All of us who care, need to make our voices heard!
'' .. i''ve got so many instances of me, that you can''t help but take at least infinite numbers of me, and that still amounts to no more than .000...1% of the numbers i keep but in reserve alone .. ''
After watching this I was sick, I can not understand why anyone would do this to any animal. I think they just made me a vegetarian.
This family supports and cheer on for MCDANE''s comment!
No, the attempt was make an animal who could break a man''s legs or punch a hole in his stomach with one KICK- move.
Wayne Pacelle? do a little research on this HSUS terrorist group and their finances, connections to Peta and convicted arsonists.
These cruel, inhuman *** should be put away in prison to rot and have cattle prods shoved up their behinds every day to make them feel what it is like to be at the receiving end of an electric shock. I hope slaughter houses around the country take note and that the authorities tirelessly chase these losers down and throw their ***** in jail. I would not call them "animals" because that would be denigrating beings that are nobler than these human refuse. How can there be such filth in this world? We need more vigilance and vigorous prosecution of these power-tripping cowards.
These people beat, neglect and electrocute these animals all the time because of their own shortcomings. Stop taking out your anger on defenseless animals. Pathetic, disgusting horrible people.
Where have YOU been? this has gone on for many years! this isnt a new thing, and every one of you who eats meat contributes to THIS. The only reason this comes out NOW is because HSUS is fund raising, and this is how they get more money out of the people to support their legislation against dog ownership and more.
HSUS is multi million dollar a year legislative body who does not run one single animal shelter anywhere, do not confuse them with your LOCAL ''Humane society'' they are in no way connected;
http://activistcash.com/
Despite their innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial Goliaths that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agendas. We''ve analyzed over 500,000 pages of IRS records to bring you a comprehensive snapshot of where their money comes from, tracking more than $800 million to date.
We also offer valuable information about hundreds of deep-pocketed foundations, activist celebrities, and other key players in the movement to control what you eat and drink. To stay in the loop, bookmark ActivistCash.com today and join our e-mail list.
Overview
Humane Society of the United States Despite the words %u201Chumane society%u201D on its letterhead, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is not affiliated with your local animal shelter. Despite the omnipresent dogs and cats in its fundraising materials, it%u2019s not an organization that runs spay/neuter programs or takes in stray, neglected, and abused pets. And despite the common image of animal protection agencies as cash-strapped organizations dedicated to animal welfare, HSUS has become the wealthiest animal rights organization on earth.
HSUS is big, rich, and powerful, a %u201Chumane society%u201D in name only. And while most local animal shelters are under-funded and unsung, HSUS has accumulated $113 million in assets and built a recognizable brand by capitalizing on the confusion its very name provokes. This misdirection results in an irony of which most animal lovers are unaware: HSUS raises enough money to finance animal shelters in every single state, with money to spare, yet it doesn%u2019t operate a single one anywhere.
Instead, HSUS spends millions on programs that seek to economically cripple meat and dairy producers; eliminate the use of animals in biomedical research labs; phase out pet breeding, zoos, and circus animal acts; and demonize hunters as crazed lunatics. HSUS spends $2 million each year on travel expenses alone, just keeping its multi-national agenda going.
From Animal Welfare to Animal Rights
There is an enormous difference between animal %u201Cwelfare%u201D organizations, which work for the humane treatment of animals, and animal %u201Crights%u201D organizations, which aim to completely end the use and ownership of animals. The former have been around for centuries; the latter emerged in the 1980s, with the rise of the radical People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
What monster''s can allow such treatment of animals - whether sick or not? Why not put them down before shocking them and moving them with forklifts to move their carcasses? I am angry and sad tonight about the treatment of these miserable bovine. It is almost just to sad to bear. I also agree that we must contact our State Representatives. I have a feeling that this story is going to get even more messy. If one company is doing it, we can be sure there are others. The American public can make a difference here if we make our voices heard and hit their pocketbooks. No more "Hallmark" meat or "Goliath" meat in my home for sure...
I will be willing to sign any petition to get this company out of the market - just contact me. Thanks.
The group completed its animal-rights transformation during the 1990s, changing its personnel in the process. HSUS assimilated dozens of staffers from PETA and other animal-rights groups, even employing John Goodwin, a former Animal Liberation Front member and spokesman with a lengthy arrest record and a history of promoting arson to accomplish animal liberation.
The change brought more money and media attention. Hoyt explained the shift in 1991, telling National Journal, PETA successfully stole the spotlight . Groups like ours that have plugged along with a larger staff, a larger constituency . have been ignored.. Hoyt agreed that PETAs net effect within the animal-rights movement was to spur more moderate groups to take tougher stances in order to attract donations from the public. Maybe Hoyt mused, the time has come to say, Since we havent been successful in getting half a loaf, lets go for the whole thing
HSUS leaders have even expressed their desire to put an end to the lifesaving biomedical research that requires the use of animals. As early as 1988 the group.s mailings demanded that the U.S. government .eliminate altogether the use of animals as research subjects. In 1986 Washingtonian asked then-HSUS Vice-President for Laboratory Animals John McArdle about his opinion that brain-dead humans should be substituted for animals in medical research. It may take people a while to get used to the idea, McArdle said
Domestic Deception
It takes tens of millions of dollars to run campaigns against so many domestic targets, and HSUS consistently misleads Americans with its fundraising efforts by hinting that its a humane society in the more conventional sense of the term. Buried deep within HSUSs website is a disclaimer noting that the group is not affiliated with, nor is it a parent organization for, local humane societies, animal shelters, or animal care and control agencies. These are independent organizations HSUS does not operate or have direct control over any animal shelter.
For instance, a 2001 member recruitment mailing called those on the HSUS mailing list true pet lovers, referring to unspecified work on behalf of dogs, puppies, cats, [and] kittens. Another recruitment mailing from that year included Thank You, Happy Birthday, and Get Well Soon greeting cards featuring pets such as dogs, cats, and fish. The business reply envelope lists 7 Steps to a Happier Pet.
A 2003 recruitment mailing also included those Steps, as well as free address labels with pastel pictures of dogs and cats. The fundraising letter subtly substituted the animal-rights term companion animals for pets.
Our mission is to encourage adoption in your neighborhood and throughout the country, reads another HSUS fundraising appeal. Even though local shelters are trying their best to save lives, they are simply overwhelmed. That last sentence, at least, is true. But dont count on the multi-million-dollar conglomerate HSUS to do anything about it. HSUS doesnt operate a single animal shelter and has no hands-on contact with stray or surplus animals.
In 1995 the Washington (DC) Humane Society almost closed its animal shelter due to a budget shortfall. HSUS, which is also based in Washington, DC, ultimately withdrew an offer to build and operate a DC shelter, at its own expense, to serve as a national model.
In exchange for running the shelter, HSUS wanted three to five acres of city land and tax-exempt status for all its real estate holdings in the District of Columbia. The DC government offered a long-term lease, but that wasnt good enough. HSUS refused to proceed unless it would own absolutely the land. The district declined, and what might have become the only HSUS-funded animal shelter never materialized.
So what does HSUS do with the millions it raises using the furry faces of Fido and Fluffy? In 2002, the multi-million-dollar conglomerate gave less than $150,000 to hands-on humane societies and animal shelters.
Worse, HSUS employees have complained to the press that their organization wastes its resources on fundraising expenses and high salaries for its chief executives.
Even seasoned animal-rights veterans were surprised in April 2000 when the Humane Society of the United States sent John J.P. Goodwin on an anti-fur junket to China. Goodwin was not just any animal activist: he was then an avowed member of the terrorist Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Less than a year later he was formally identified as an HSUS legislative affairs staffer; Goodwin would later change his rhetoric to match HSUSs corporate policy of not endorsing violence as a protest tactic.
Goodwin, a high-school dropout who had previously co-founded the Texas-based Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, pulled no punches when it came to his priorities. My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture, he had written to one Internet activist mailing list.
Goodwin himself has been arrested and convicted for being the ringleader of a gang that vandalized fur retailers in multiple states during the 1990s. The animal-rights newspaper Animal People News profiled Goodwin in 2000, noting that he gleefully announced a string of Animal Liberation Front mink releases and arsons against furriers and fur farms while a spokesman for the underground terrorist group.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL for your proper thoughts and comments !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........................( Its people like you that help me get thru this horror)...........................
During 1998 and 1999, the Humane Society of the United States reported to the IRS that it made small financial contributions toward the operation of WASTE.org, an Internet website that was then the main distribution point for the communiqus of the terrorist Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
HSUS and its affiliates have received embarrassingly low scores from established charity watchdog groups. Worth magazine gave HSUS a D rating for spending as much as 53 percent of its expenses on fundraising. And online rating service Give.org noted that the huge HSUS corporate family does not have an active governing board overseeing the overall structure, and criticized the organization for holding only three board meetings during 2000, two of them on the same day. Charity Navigator gave only one star (out of four) to HSUSs Earth Voice International, and zero to the Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust.
In New York, Share Group only gave HSUS $16,543 of the $1.08 million it raised during the year 2000 -- a return of only 1.53 percent. In 2004, Share Group raised over $1 million in HSUSs name, but HSUS wound up paying over $173,000 for the privilege. This dismal record probably didnt surprise HSUS: back in 1996, Share raised $60,045 and returned nothing.
The 2001 Letter of Agreement between the two groups shows that HSUS agreed to a minimum guarantee of only 1 percent of the gross receipts. The Illinois Attorney Generals office reports that HSUS paid Share Group over $1.87 million for 2001 fundraising that netted less than $750,000 to the animal-rights group -- a negative 150 percent return.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- next
See all 189 Comments