“Humane Slaughterhouse Slammed for False Advertising

Yesterday, Mercy For Animals filed a false advertising complaint against Vermont Packinghouse, a slaughterhouse that bills itself as “humane,” despite being suspended by the USDA for animal cruelty a staggering four times in six months. This abysmal record is matched only by three other federally inspected slaughterhouses in the past decade.

In addition to issuing these four suspensions, the USDA has repeatedly cited this facility for botched stunning and other inhumane treatment of animals. In one such instance, a sow was shot in the head but remained conscious—bleeding from her snout and screaming—until she was shot again. The USDA also cited the slaughterhouse several times for failing to provide something as basic as food or water to animals—sometimes for longer than 24 hours.

In the past two years, the USDA has written up Vermont Packinghouse 15 times, in addition to suspending it four times, for violations of the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. What’s more, MFA received information that even more violations were documented at Vermont Packinghouse in the past two months, for which official records are not yet available.

One would think this history of repeated violations would be enough to permanently shut down this house of horror. But the USDA has failed to take any meaningful action, typically lifting suspensions quickly and allowing the slaughterhouse to go back to business as usual—sometimes the very next day.

Meanwhile, Vermont Packinghouse continues to claim it treats animals with “respect and dignity. Some websites claim that the facility provides “humanely-raised, ethically slaughtered meat. This company clearly preys on people looking for “humane meat. Unfortunately, these people don’t understand that slaughtering animals is always violent, bloody, and horrific.

That’s why we’re calling on the state attorney general to take action against Vermont Packinghouse for consumer deception and unfair business practices. We hope the attorney general will hold the slaughterhouse responsible for its repeat violations of law and lying to consumers about it.

The plain fact is that there’s simply no humane way to kill an animal who doesn’t want to die. The only way to ensure farmed animals are treated humanely is to leave them off our plates altogether and switch to a delicious and compassionate plant-based diet. Learn how by visiting ChooseVeg.com.