In an eye-opening testimony given to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday, March 4, Dr. Dean Wyatt, a supervisory veterinarian at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, accused senior USDA officials of attempting to cover up reports of cruel and illegal slaughterhouse practices.
Describing numerous incidents of egregious cruelty to animals at multiple slaughterhouses, including workers butchering pigs while they are still conscious and able to feel pain and repeatedly shocking and beating calves who were too weak to even stand, Wyatt testified that he and other inspectors who cited slaughterhouses for unsafe and illegal practices were often overruled and threatened with transfer or demotion.
After citing an Oklahoma slaughterhouse when workers were caught stabbing conscious pigs, Wyatt said the plant appealed his decisions to district supervisors based hundreds of miles away in Arkansas. In 2008 and early 2009, Wyatt ordered Bushway Packing in Vermont to suspend operations three times for the cruel mishandling of animals, but USDA officials allowed the plant to reopen each time. Following the release of undercover video taken at Bushway last fall, which uncovered extreme cruelty to animals, including a worker attempting to skin a calf alive, the USDA suspended operations at the facility pending further investigation.
Calling for reform, Wyatt told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, “I truly believe that the USDA inspector is the only advocate animals have in slaughter plants. When we turn our backs on the helpless, when we fail to speak on behalf of the voiceless, when we tolerate animal abuse and suffering, then the moral compass of a just and compassionate society is gone.”
Fortunately, each one of us has the power to help end this abuse by simply choosing to adopt a vegan diet. Find out more at ChooseVeg.com.
