Conscious Cow’s Throat Cut After Being Shot in the Head at Lexington Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
December 5, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A damning U.S. Department of Agriculture report just obtained by PETA reveals that a cow remained conscious after being shot in the head before the animal’s throat was slashed at the Volunteer Meats, LLC slaughterhouse (also known as 412 Meat Processing) outside Lexington—adding to a disturbing history of botched killings at the slaughterhouse. In response, PETA sent a letter this morning to District Attorney General Jody Pickens urging him to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against the workers responsible.

According to the report, on November 14 a senior federal veterinarian witnessed a worker ineffectively shoot a cow with a captive-bolt gun. The animal fell to the floor but continued breathing and looking around. A worker attempted to shoot the cow a second time in the head, but the device misfired, and another worker cut the conscious animal’s throat—causing the cow to bleed to death. Federal inspectors have warned the facility multiple times since August 2021 for botching the shooting of at least eight other animals—leaving them conscious and in pain after being shot in the head—and for confining dozens of animals without water or food, and more.

“A cow was shot in the head and still conscious as her throat was slashed, adding to an alarming pattern of egregious suffering at this miserable hellhole,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this cow and calls on 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 considering making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Pickens follows.

December 5, 2024

The Honorable Jody S. Pickens

District Attorney General

Tennessee Judicial District 26

Dear Mr. Pickens:

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 Volunteer Meats LLC and the workers responsible for shooting a cow in the head twice and cutting the conscious animal’s throat on November 14 at its slaughterhouse located at 19690 Hwy. 412 E. outside Lexington. 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 initial stun attempt with a 25 caliber pistol style Handheld Captive Bolt Device (HHCB) was observed to contact the animal but was ineffective. The animal collapsed in the chute but remained alert, exhibiting tracking eye movements and regular breathing. Your stun operator attempted a corrective action stun with the same HHCB device, but the device misfired. Your establishment personnel left the area to retrieve another stun device, but before another attempt could be delivered, two In-Plant Consumer Safety Inspectors (CSI) observed your establishment personnel cut the conscious animal’s throat. The animal subsequently expired from exsanguination.¹

This conduct may violate Tennessee Code § 39-14-202. The documented acts are not the usual and customary agricultural practices otherwise exempt from prosecution. 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

1FSIS District 90 Manager Dr. Larry Davis, Notice of Suspension, Volunteer Meats LLC (November 14, 2024) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/M6561-NOS-11142024.pdf. Last accessed November 27, 2024.

2See 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.”).