Conscious Lamb’s Throat Slit After Botched Shooting; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
February 24, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
PETA has just obtained a disturbing U.S. Department of Agriculture report revealing the horrifically bungled killing of a lamb at LeMay and Sons Beef LLC slaughterhouse outside Goffstown, so, this morning, PETA sent a letter to Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin urging him to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.
According to the just-released report, an inspector witnessed the lamb standing up, breathing, and moving around after apparently enduring a blast to the head—and instead of immediately rendering the lamb unconscious with another shot per the inspector’s order, the supervisor and other workers proceeded to string up the lamb and sever the baby animal’s jugular and carotid artery.
“A lamb was shot at, strung up, and slashed to death while fully conscious at LeMay and Sons Beef,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for an investigation on behalf of this lamb and urges everyone to please go vegan to help spare animals the pain and terror of the slaughterhouse.”
Lambs are gentle prey animals who normally suffer in silence rather than drawing attention to themselves and attracting further harm. 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 Coughlin follows.
February 24, 2025
The Honorable John J. Coughlin
Hillsborough County Attorney
Dear Mr. Coughlin:
I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to request that your office (and the proper local law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against the LeMay and Sons Beef LLC supervisor responsible for shooting a lamb in the head and then hoisting the conscious, suffering animal upside down and cutting the animal’s throat on February 6 at its slaughterhouse located at 116 Daniel Plummer Rd. outside Goffstown. 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 Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) noticed the establishment supervisor head out to the kill area in the room adjacent to the slaughterhouse to begin stunning lambs. After a moment, the CSI heard what appeared to be the captive bolt go off. … Upon entering the kill area, the CSI observed a lamb standing up right, showing signs of being fully conscious … including eye movement, breathing, and moving about the kill box. The CSI immediately informed the supervisor that he needed to make another (stunning) attempt to render the lamb unconscious. With the assistance from other employees, the supervisor hoisted the lamb up, [and] then proceeded to cut the lamb’s throat, severing the jugular and carotid artery, rendering [the animal] unconscious.1
This conduct appears to violate N.H. Rev. Stat. § 644:8(III-a). 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
Investigations Project Manager
[1]FSIS District 60 Manager George Slobodjian, Notice of Suspension, LeMay and Sons Beef LLC (February 6, 2025) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/M9542-P9542-NOS-02062025.pdf. Last accessed February 20, 2025.
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.”).
