British Columbia - Meadow Valley Meats Being Investigated for Animal Cruelty

​www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cruelty-investigation-launched-into-b-c-slaughterhouse-after-secret-video-obtained-1.6285404

Advocacy group Animal Justice, filed a legal complaint against Meadow Valley Meats, after an undercover video exposed several potential instances of blatant animal abuse / cruelty. The video, filmed last summer and submitted to Animal Justice this past month, depicts cows, sheep, and goats, being kicked and hit with various instruments; not in line with the standards set out for slaughterhouses. Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time that BC's largest producer of beef, veal, lamb, and goat meat, has been in hot water. Under its previous name, Pitt Meadow Meats, the slaughterhouse was charged with knowingly selling meat tainted with e-coli, and two of its current directors were charged with animal cruelty on a dairy farm they were tied to in the past. It seems that Meadow Valley Meats has a history of animal abuse.

There were several instances recorded that suggested cruelty to animals and practices that were outside of Canada's slaughter / welfare rules. These include; 

• Animals were improperly stunned - According to Canada's slaughter guidelines, an animal must be unconscious before it is cut open. This was not the case at Meadow Valley Farms.
• Cows were documented being electrically prodded in the face - This is incredibly painful and unnecessary.
  
• Cows, sheep, and goats, were seen being kicked and whipped with items not in line with welfare standards - Kicking these animals demonstrates a total lack of empathy and compassion to animals that are forced to give up their lives for food.
  
• An injured sheep was seen being dragged to slaughter. - Canada's guidelines suggest that injured or sick animals should never be brought to slaughter
  
• Sheep were seen being hoisted up by their fleece / skin while still conscious - a painful, frightening experience for an animal
  
• Cows were documented being repeatedly hit in the face with paddles - not in line with Canada's slaughterhouse / welfare guidelines. 

"HUMANE" Meat is a Myth

Any time I hear "humane" when it comes to meat, it's almost laughable because these same farms / slaughterhouses are often filmed doing things that are hardly humane. All the terminology does is sugarcoat what's actually happening in these places. Let me be frank; there is no humane way to slaughter an animal that fears for its life. There is no humane way to slaughter an animal after you're documented kicking, punching, and hitting it in the face with random objects. Humane meat is a myth. These animals can be seen fearfully trying to avoid slaughter. They've been documented screaming, trying to run, being pushed & prodded towards slaughter. Producers of meat simply hide behind this terminology, but the fact is, you can't humanely kill something that doesn't want to die.

Look, if you're convinced that this is an isolated incident, think again. I can almost guarantee that if an undercover video was taken of ANY slaughterhouse, there would be documented abuse and cruelty outside of Canada's slaughter / welfare standards. People working in these places are completely desensitized to the suffering of these animals. They see these animals as nothing more than products, which is why abuse is not uncommon. If they can desensitize to animals in fear for their life, what makes you think that they'd have any trouble kicking, pushing, punching, or prodding those same animals? They wouldn't, that's the problem.

I hope Meadow Valley Meats gets charged and convicted of animal cruelty / abuse. I hope that every single slaughter house on this planet that is abusing animals behind closed doors is exposed for the corruption they contribute to. I hope that one day we recognize that mass produced meat IS animal cruelty. There's simply no way to humanely slaughter hundreds of thousands of animals on any given day, week, month, or year. 

​Learn more about the investigation through the link at the top of this post. 

HAPPY VEG