Archive for the ‘Kosher Killings’ Category

Slaughterhouse Cruelty Exposed

Posted: February 15, 2012 in Agriprocessors, Animal Brutality, Animal Cruelty, Kosher Killings
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Slaughterhouse Cruelty Exposed

Cow

Australia’s ABC-TV’s Lateline broke a story last night on a slaughterhouse which authorities have shut down after hidden cameras revealed  cruelty to animals. The slaughterhouse in question is the source of  Kosher meat in the Sydney region.

Abattoir used in part for Shechitah Shut Down JWire.com

ABC-TV’s Lateline broke a story last night on an abattoir near Sydney which authorities have shut down after hidden cameras had revealed alleged cruelty to animals. The abattoir in question is the source of Kosher meat in the Sydney region.

Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors in Wilberforce has been slaughtering for both the Jewish and Muslim communities for some time. The Kashrut Authority’s Rabbi Moshe Gutnick told J-Wire: “We have made immediate contingency plans to maintain the supply of Kosher meat to the community. I understand the abattoir has taken steps to rectify matters and hopes to re-open in the not too distant future.”

The abattoir’s Glen Langley told J-Wire that he would make a statement when in a legal position to do so.
J-Wire understands that a “rat” filmed dashing across the floor of the abattoir was in fact a mechanical shackle used during the processing of the animals.
Rabbi Gutnick added that the exaggerated movements of slaughtered animals is a natural process and not cruel due to oxygen deprivation even if the animal is stunned.

Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors is not exclusively used for Kosher or Halal killing and the cruelty shown on film related to the treatment of pigs.
The ABC footage and corresponding text can be seen here.

The footage J Wire refers to doesn’t appear to be online. Instead, what you see is a shorter, less graphic version aired the following day that focuses on pig slaughter, so it’s hard to evaluate the actual shechita issues.

That said, the footage we can see shows very bad animal handling along with obscene cruelty.

That J-Wire chose not to link to the footage showing cattle slaughter (or to ask any Humane Slaughter experts about it) means we cannot evaluate Rabbi Gutnick’s claim regarding that slaughter – although the same claims were made by rabbis about Agriprocessors, and those claims were clearly false and were proved false by dozens of large animal biologists, veterenarians and, eventually, the USDA, which found Agriprocessors violated Humane Slaughter law.

And the rat?

You’ll have to take J-Wire’s claim it really was a “mechanical shackle” at face value – or not.

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