Feds See Pig Beaten in the Face at Tyson Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
January 13, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report reveals that a pig was repeatedly beaten in the face with a wand by a worker at the Tyson Fresh Meats slaughterhouse near Logansport. In response, PETA sent a letter this morning to Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Noah Schafer, urging him to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.

According to the report, on July 3, a federal inspector witnessed the worker raising the wand above his head and “aggressively striking” the pig multiple times. When the inspector and a Tyson Fresh Meats manager instructed the worker to “stop hitting the hogs so hard,” the worker responded by hurling expletives at both of them. The onslaught evidently ended only after the pigs were confined away from the employee.

“This pig was mercilessly beaten by a worker apparently hell-bent on inflicting pain and making the last moments of this animal’s life even more agonizing and terrifying,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this abused pig and urges everyone to please go vegan to help spare animals from suffering in slaughterhouses.”

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 Schafer follows.

January 13, 2025

The Honorable Noah Schafer

Cass County Prosecuting Attorney

Dear Mr. Schafer:

I’m writing to request that your office (and a law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the individual responsible for beating a pig in the face at the Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. slaughterhouse, located at 2125 S. Co. Rd. 125 W., near Logansport. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which the agency just made available to the public.

On July 3, 2024, an FSIS inspector saw a Tyson Fresh Meats worker raising a wand “above his head” and “excessively and aggressively striking [a] hog in the face and on the side of the face repeatedly.” When the inspector and an apparent Tyson Fresh Meats manager instructed the suspect to “stop hitting the hogs so hard,” the worker “responded by cussing at both” the inspector and the manager. The beatings apparently stopped only after pigs were confined and prevented from moving toward the suspect.

Please note that FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals. The above conduct appears to violate IN Code § 35-46-3-12 (b). Indiana law affords this victim her only chance at a small measure of justice. We urge your office to seek it. Thank you for your time and consideration and for the important work that you do.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Legal Advocacy

Cruelty Investigations Department