A high price for dinner

Compassion Over Killing brings charges of cruelty at local livestock auctions

By Feleece Jarvis, Staff Writer

Montgomery County Sentinel
Vol. 147, No. 30; Feb 28 - March 6, 2002
Page 1

Pork, beef, and chicken - three culinary staples that are enjoyed by Americans across the country. It's understood that these products come from pigs, cows, and chickens, but at what cost?

A three-month-long undercover investigation into the condition of livestock auctions—where these meats are produced—by Compassion Over Killing (COK) found that the price of these products is violence and intimidation toward animals.

From October through December of 2001, COK undercover investigators took video and photographic evidence of animals at three auctions: Westminster, Frederick, and Four State's Livestock Auctions in Maryland.

"We visited these facilities to see if these things [abuses] were going on, and we found that there was pretty grievous cruelty occurring and decided to bring our video cameras in with us and document it," said Paul Shapiro, campaign manager for COK. Clips from the documentary, titled "The Auction Block: An Inside Look at Farmed Animal Sales," show the use of electric prods, beating of sick animals, dragging or restraining by their legs and ears, slamming of gates on animals as they pass by, dead animals lying in the same area as live ones, and rough handlers.

"Bad things do happen at the auctions, but I wouldn't say it was the norm, neither would I claim that bad things are done by the auction handlers," said Michael Starks, spokesperson for a Livestock Auction in Southern Maryland. When asked if Starks knew about any cruelty happening at his auction he said, "many things happen that I don't know about."

Is such treatment allowed? The Maryland anti-cruelty statute explicitly exempts animals raised for food and the Federal Animal Rights Act only goes as far as to seeing to the welfare of animals while they are on the farm. As of now there are no laws that protect animals once they are at a livestock auction. "While they are at livestock auctions anything you can do to them to is perfectly legal," Shapiro said. "You can be shoving an electric prod down their throats and it would be perfectly legal."

A worker at Four State's Livestock Auction was reluctant to speak about the condition of the animals held there, commenting only that "they're animals and are treated likewise."

Joseph Donovan, spokesperson for Premium Pork, said that he had no knowledge of how these animals are being treated at the auctions. "Yes, some of the animals look worse off than others…If we know of the conditions the animals are being treated at these auctions we would move to another auction."

COK acknowledges that no laws are being broken. "Cruelty to animals is the norm, and anyone who doesn't want to be supporting animal cruelty should stage a protest through their plates by becoming vegetarian," Shapiro said.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that it could be "more healthy to be vegetarian than to eat a traditional American meal." They stated that much heart related illnesses are due to the eating of heavy amounts of red meat.

To help Americans become vegetarians COK issues free vegetarian packs and holds demos every spring on the Mall. COK says that the power to end animal abuse is up to the consumers, and they want to make sure people know what has happened to the animals they are eating.

Shapiro said, "Consumers have the most power to stop animal abuse. We can say no to the livestock industry, factories, farms, and slaughterhouses by becoming vegetarians and really making a powerful statement for a kinder world, a more gentle world and a less violent world."

Copyright 2002 Montgomery County Sentinel