Crying Sow Shot Four Times in the Head at Local Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
August 21, 2024
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Following a just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report revealing that a sow remained conscious and crying out after being shot in the head multiple times at the 3D Meats LLC slaughterhouse in Dalton, PETA sent a letter today to Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Angela Wypasek urging her to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against the worker responsible.
According to the report, on July 29 a federal inspector heard a sow being shot with a firearm, immediately followed by a second shot, which caused the sow to cry out. A third shot was heard, after which the sow cried out again before a fourth shot finally ended her suffering. The inspector noted that the sow had three small “penetrating wounds” in between her eyes and one larger wound higher up on her skull.
“At this miserable slaughterhouse, a sow was subjected to multiple blasts to the head, causing her a prolonged, agonizing death,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this animal, whose last minutes were tremendously painful and horrifying, and reminds everyone that the only humane meal is a vegan one.”
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. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Wypasek follows.
August 21, 2024
The Honorable Angela Wypasek
Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney
Dear Ms. Wypasek:
I’m writing to request that your office (and a law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against the 3D Meats LLC worker responsible for repeatedly mis-shooting a sow in the head—leaving her crying out between the blasts—at its slaughterhouse located at 14740 E. Lincoln Way in Dalton. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following.
July 29, 2024: [An FSIS] Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) … heard [a] sow being [shot] with a firearm …. The CSI heard the first shot and immediately heard a second shot. After the second shot, the sow let out a loud squeal. The CSI then heard a third shot, and again, the sow let out a loud squeal. Then a fourth shot was administered and no vocalization from the sow followed. … [T]he CSI observed the unconscious sow. … Upon inspection of the sow’s head, the CSI observed three smaller penetrating wounds in between [her] eyes, close together, and one larger penetrating wound higher up on [her] skull and to the left of the other three.
For more details on this incident, please contact FSIS Office of Field Operations District Manager Dr. Donald Fickey.
This conduct may violate Ohio Revised Code § 959.13(A)(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. 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,
Elise Fisher
Evidence Analyst
Cruelty Investigations Department
PETA
