Feds See Pigs Repeatedly Beaten; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
August 22, 2022

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

Following a recently obtained federal report documenting that pigs cried out “loudly” as a truck driver repeatedly beat them at the Leidy’s Inc. slaughterhouse near Souderton, PETA fired off a letter today to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, calling on him to investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the person responsible.

According to the report, on March 14 pigs were crying out as the truck driver screamed at and struck them with a paddle multiple times. “The more he beat them the louder they squealed and he would not stop,” the report reads. The federal inspector shouted at the driver to stop, but he continued to strike the animals. Only when the federal agent told him to “[s]top beating them, stop screaming at them” did the man cease the abuse.

“This slaughterhouse is a hell on Earth for animals, where pigs cried out in terror as they were repeatedly beaten,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling on the Montgomery County district attorney to investigate this matter and file appropriate criminal charges against this truck driver—and reminds everyone that the only humane meal is a vegan one.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Steele follows.

August 22, 2022

The Honorable Kevin R. Steele
Montgomery County District Attorney

Dear Mr. Steele:

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 man responsible for beating pigs at the Leidy’s Inc. slaughterhouse located at 266 W. Cherry Ln. near Souderton. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in reports that the agency recently made available to the public. (See the attached table.)

According to the report, on March 14 an FSIS inspector “heard a male voice yelling loudly [and] hogs squealing loudly” and discovered a truck driver “beating the hogs repeatedly with a paddle …. The hogs were terrified and they squealed as he beat them with the paddle hurrying them to get off the vehicle. The more he beat them the louder they squealed and he would not stop.” The federal agent “shouted … STOP, STOP, STOP,” but the suspect apparently did not hear the instruction. Eventually, after the inspector and a second individual got the man’s attention and told him, “Stop beating them, stop screaming at them,” he stopped beating the animals.

This conduct may violate 18 Pa. C.S. § 5533. The documented acts are not the normal agricultural activities otherwise exempt from prosecution. 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. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, 

Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis
Cruelty Investigations Department