Slaughterhouse Worker Repeatedly Saws Conscious Calf’s Throat; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
July 30, 2024
Contact:
Maddy Missett 202-483-7382
Following a damning U.S. Department of Agriculture report detailing that a worker at Hamzah Slaughter House LLC sawed a conscious calf’s throat with a skinning knife, PETA sent a letter today to Washington County State’s Attorney Regina M. Cirincion urging her to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against him.
According to the report, on March 14 a calf was brought into a “head catch” and a “nose pincher” was attached to the animal. As the calf’s head was pulled upward, a worker used a “lamb skinning knife” to cut her throat, sawing back and forth 10 to 15 times while she cried out. After employees released the calf’s head, she backed out into the chute, where she remained standing and loudly crying out for approximately two minutes. A slaughterhouse supervisor finally ended her suffering by slashing her throat with a larger knife.
“At this miserable slaughterhouse, a worker mercilessly sawed a calf’s throat, 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 calf whose last minutes were tremendously painful and horrifying and urges everyone to help prevent animals from suffering in slaughterhouses by going vegan.”
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 Cirincion follows.
July 30, 2024
The Honorable Regina M. Cirincion
Washington County State’s Attorney
Dear Ms. Cirincion:
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 Hamzah Slaughter House LLC worker responsible for sawing a conscious calf’s throat with a skinning knife 10 to 15 times—leaving her crying out for minutes—at its slaughterhouse located at 15680 Clear Springs Rd. outside Williamsport. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following.
March 14, 2024: A plant employee brought a calf into the head catch and attached the nose pincher. While a second employee pulled the head upward … the designated “cutter” attempted to make the ritual cut on the calf’s throat. The employee was utilizing a lamb skinning knife for the cut and sawed back-and-forth on the animal’s throat 10–15 times while the calf stood loudly vocalizing. Employees then released the calf’s head and the calf backed out into the chute. The calf remained standing and loudly vocalizing for approximately two minutes …. Slaughter supervisor … came onto the slaughter floor … and made a single cut on the animal’s throat which caused [her] to drop immediately and cease vocalizing.
For more details on this incident, please contact FSIS Office of Field Operations District Manager Todd M. Furey.
This conduct may violate MD Code, Criminal Law § 10-604. 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 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
