The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1957-04-02
Letters To Editor
Humane Methods
Needed in Slaughter
.ditor. The Farnyille Herald.

Editor. The Farmyille Herald,
I read with interest Mr.. Ogie-
vie's letter on the cruelties Of the
American slaughter houses.
The House Agriculture Com
inittee has scheduled hearing
on humane slaughter bills April
2.
I urge readers to write at once
to Representative Watkins NJ Alb
bitt, House Office Building, Wash
ington, .. c.. asking him to sup
port Fl. r. 1929 or similar legisla-
ton to stop the cruelties Of the
slaughter houses. Mr.. Abbitt is a
member of the Agriculture Com
mittee of the House Of Represent
atives. This committee has almost
power to determine whether Con-
gress will pass a humane slaugh-
ter law this year
I am giving some methods list
ed by the Humane Society used
by most slaughter houses.
In some slaughter houses
lambs and calves are jerked off
the floor and hung by one leg
like hogs before being stuck" IN
other plants these infant animals
are violently thrown to the floor
the head is pulled back almost TO
the shoulders. and the throat cut.
The lamb or calt.ffes on the floor
until it bleeds slowly into uncon-
seriousness and dies. Last year our
slaughter houses did this to about
100000 calves and 90,000,000
lambs.
Cattle are more trouble TO the
slaughter house than are hogs,
lambs, and calves, In m 0 5 t
slaughter houses, the animal is
first driven into q knocking rsn
= pen narrow enough to hold
the animal under close control.
Along side the pen, on q slight
ly raised platform stands a man
who is called a "knocker" The
knocker uses q long handed
sledge hammer or axe to knock
the animal to the floor
When the big animal is finally
"immobilized, as the slaughter
men say Cthe animals are not al
ways unconscious, it is dragged
out of the knocking pen Then it's
throat is cut.
Last year about 100000 cat
tie went through this process ln
American slaughter houses.
The procedures described above
are the ordinary routine Of our
billion-dollar meat packing in
! dustry But the animals going ia
their death are often not given
the 'benefit" Of the routine
! A u. S. Department Of Agricul-
ture inspector vino has worked in
many packing plants in the last
Is yeaHs wrote to the Humane
/ Society fof the United States.
When calves are slaughtered
they are shackled and pulled up
/ to an over head rail and bIed
/ Sometimes the hind feet are
/ skinned out and cut off while
/ the animal is still alive ana they
/ come out on the floor by a MOVING
chain still kicking
This same man f. not ar emo
tional laynan but man who
| has worked in slaughter house
/ for a quarter of q century #
| wrote:
II have seen cattle which were
knocked with the hammer and
rolled out on the floor and hung
up for bleeding after sticking
and the header started to Skin
out the head while the ANNA
was still alive and was trying tc
| below"
Speaking in terms Of moral
ity. our nation long ago outlawec
cruelty to animals. Every one Of
the major religions Of our people
names cruelty a sin Every state
of the Union, and the Fedral gov
eminent itself have declared in
a multitude of laws that cruelty
to animals is impermissible
All thoughtful persons recog-
nize that cruelty is an evil that
should be eradicated from our So
ciety. not merely for the sake OF
the animals but for our own
good. We know that cruelty
whether to animals or to man
causes in the perpetrator a moral
and cultural erosin that is harm
/ full to the whole Of society.
/ James Aldrick
Farmville. Va.