Monday, July 09, 2007

PETA is at it at Again! Rubashkin Probe!

PETA had previously put Rubashkin in the limelight for alleged animal cruelty. Well according to Forbes they certainly have not dropped the ball:in a complaint filed Monday with the Sheridan County Attorney, the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Local Pride LLC allows cows to remain conscious for up to two minutes after their throats are cut during the kosher slaughtering process, among other things. Evidently Local Pride was open in connection with Rubashkin, the largest kosher meat processor. PETA had tried to go undercover to continue with it's previous complaint against the kosher meat giant. Unfortunately for PETA the USDA found no federal violations of animal rights.

7 comments:

heebnvegan said...

Thanks for covering this. What happened at AgriProcessors -- in 2004 or in 2007 -- wasn't an isolated incident. When animals are slaughtered on a large scale for a business, their welfare interests get overlooked. Sadly, that's true even in the kosher meat industry, which seems to be more concerned with the letter of the law than the spirit (ie, preventing unnecessary animal suffering--tza'ar ba'alei chayim). Jews concerned about the humane treatment of animals shouldn't stand for this horrific abuse: ripping into cows' throats and mutilating their ears while they're still conscious!

Anyone who doesn't want to support this cruelty should seriously consider adopting a vegetarian diet. Go to www.GoVeg.com for more info about this case or to order a free vegetarian starter kit.

Anonymous said...

Not exactly correct. The USDA sent an inspector *after* PETA complained. You can see footage of a Rubashkin worker cutting off parts of ears and using a meat hook on still-conscious animals here:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2007/07/breaking-rubash.html

The USDA missed the previous Rubashkin animal cruelty. A later USDA internal investigation found that USDA inspectors slept on duty, took gifts from Rubashkin, and played computer games while supposedly working.

To say the USDA found "no violatins" is to tell only a tiny part of the story.

Anonymous said...

I should add that Rubashkin was aware of the new PETA complaints *before*, it seems, the USDA managed to get over and take a look.

Rambler said...

Unfortunately, PETA's zeal to defend animal rights has brought them to dirty slander. They made up a whole libel against kosher slaughtering practices out of their hatred for slaughtering animals in general. What they don't realize is that they are picking the wrong battle. Kosher slaughtering is the most humane kind around. It would be much more beneficial for the cause of humane treatment of animals to attack those who don't use kosher slaughtering practices. They shy away from that because such an attack would be too unpopular. Instead, they cowardly make up false charges against the most humane form of slaughter that there is. How ironic.

Anonymous said...

Really?

Then why tip off the OU and Rubashkin months BEFORE going public? This is what happened the last time Rubashkin was caught red handed.

Further, PETA has said clearly and repeatedly that kosher slaughter done correctly is extremely humane.

And PETA has gone after many different slaughter companies not affiliated with anything Jewish.

In other words, you do not know what you are talking about.

You can find all of these sources and much more on my blog:

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/

On the left sidebar, about halfway down the page,

Anonymous said...

shmarya, Whether PETA is right or wrong about Rubashkin is irrelevant. It is an organization made up of radical zealots and extremists. Nothing they say should be taken seriously.

Anonymous said...

Whether PETA is right or wrong about Rubashkin is irrelevant. It is an organization made up of radical zealots and extremists. Nothing they say should be taken seriously.

So the truth should be ignored because you dislike the messenger? Please.