Probe of Slaughterhouse Sought After Goat Repeatedly Shot in the Head

PETA Cites Federal Report Showing That Goat at Dayton Natural Meats Had Ruptured Eye After Prolonged, Botched Stunning Efforts

For Immediate Release:
March 8, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

Armed with a damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, PETA sent a letter today calling on the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office to investigate and, as appropriate, file criminal charges against Dayton Natural Meats, LLC, and the worker responsible for repeatedly shooting a goat in the head.

According to the USDA report, on February 7, a USDA veterinarian heard a worker shoot a goat with a captive-bolt gun, apparently striking the animal in the eye and causing him or her to stand up and cry out repeatedly. The worker unsuccessfully tried to shoot the goat again before a third shot, fired nearly a full minute after the first, finally rendered the animal unconscious. Afterward, the veterinarian noted that both of the goat’s eyes were injured and one was ruptured. PETA notes that this incident may violate Oregon laws, which state that it’s against the law to kill an animal cruelly or recklessly cause physical injury to an animal.

“PETA is calling for a criminal investigation of this facility and the worker who repeatedly shot a goat in the head, causing the animal to endure a slow and agonizing death,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “There’s no difference between the fear and pain that this animal felt and the way that dogs, cats, or humans would feel if they were left with a ruptured eye.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that other animals have a central nervous system and sense of self-preservation just as humans do and that the only way to prevent goats, cows, pigs, chickens, and others from suffering in slaughterhouses is to go vegan.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.