Conscious Cow’s Throat Slashed After Being Shot Twice at Newnan-Area Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
December 2, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Newnan, Ga. –

A disturbing U.S. Department of Agriculture report just obtained by PETA reveals that workers shot a cow twice before cutting the animal’s throat while she was still conscious at the Pyramid Trading slaughterhouse outside Newnan. In response, PETA today sent an urgent letter to Coweta County Solicitor-General Amy Godfrey, urging her to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.

According to the report, on October 17 employees shot a cow two times in the head with a 9mm handgun, but she remained conscious and standing. One of the employees then slashed her throat, causing her to bleed to death.

“At this miserable slaughterhouse, a cow was subjected to a prolonged, agonizing death, standing helplessly as her throat was sliced open after being shot twice in the head,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this animal and urges everyone to help prevent animals from suffering in slaughterhouses by going vegan.”

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free vegan starter kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Godfrey follows

December 2, 2024

Amy Godfrey

Solicitor-General

Coweta County

Dear Ms. Godfrey:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’d like to request that your office (and the proper local law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against Pyramid Trading LLC and the workers responsible for shooting a cow in the head twice and then cutting the conscious animal’s throat on October 17 at its slaughterhouse located at 68 Quarry Rd. outside Newnan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:

The employees decided to stun the animal by means of 9mm handgun …. Two shots were fired, the heifer was not rendered unconscious and remained standing. One of the employees then jumped into the kill box, cut the neck, and the heifer bled out.^[1]

This conduct appears to violate O.C.G.A. § 16-12-4(b)(1). Importantly, FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for slaughterhouse workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals.^[2] Given that the FSIS has not initiated a criminal prosecution of a licensed slaughterhouse for inhumane handling since at least 2007, charges under state law are this victim’s only chance at a measure of justice.

Please let us know what we might do to assist you. Thank you for your consideration and for the difficult work that you do.

Sincerely,

Colin Henstock

Associate Director of Project Strategy

[1]FSIS District 85 Manager Dr. Phyllis Adams, Notice of Suspension, Pyramid Trading, LLC (October 18, 2024) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/M2703-NOS-10182024.pdf. Last accessed November 22, 2024.

[2]See Nat’l. Meat Assoc. v. Harris, 132 S. Ct. 965, 974 n.10 (2012) (“States may exact civil or criminal penalties for animal cruelty or other conduct that also violates the [Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA)]. See [21 U.S.C.] §678; cf. Bates v. Dow Agrosciences, LLC, 544 U.S. 431, 447 (2005), holding that a preemption clause barring state laws ‘in addition to or different’ from a federal Act does not interfere with an ‘equivalent’ state provision. Although the FMIA preempts much state law involving slaughterhouses, it thus leaves some room for the States to regulate.”).