Vic Abattoir Under Investigation For Animal Cruelty - Again.

[westiemum]

ABC 24 reporting a Victorian Abbatoir in Echuca is under investigation for mistreatment of animals, particularly bobby calves, prior to slaughter. They have been burning the animals in the neck instead of stunning properly according to footage.

This is the second time in as many years that this abattoir has come under investigation by PrimeSafe and there are calls for it to be shut down.

Warning - Disturbing footage embedded in the story. But you can read the story without viewing/clicking the footage here

[asal]

so is this one

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-14/tasmanian-abattoir-accused-of-animal-cruelty/7924804

both would have more credence with me if their own inspectors didnt do the same but label their efforts, euthanasia.

any abattoir running the stock through a paddock gate and shooting them on the run would have both in court and probably out of business. yet! we have these photos of Inspector Ashton in action

freely available on the net.

ACCOUNTABILITY needs to be for all, not just some

Edited November 23, 2016 by asal

[westiemum]

Thanks asal - it appears that live export is only part of the cruelty problem here.

[twodoggies2001]

I am a meat eater and my dogs are raw fed meat but I find that to work in an abattoir you have to have a cruel streak. I have always advocated that the animal, until their last moments on this earth should be treated with dignity and respect including our food sources. Why oh why do these situations bring out the bad and cruel side of humans

[westiemum]

I am a meat eater and my dogs are raw fed meat but I find that to work in an abattoir you have to have a cruel streak. I have always advocated that the animal, until their last moments on this earth should be treated with dignity and respect including our food sources. Why oh why do these situations bring out the bad and cruel side of humans

Yep. Many years ago I used to rehab workers from the now defunct Macksville Abattoir on the mid north cost of NSW. And I found that if they didn't have mental health issues going in they sure had them coming out. The vast majority of people are badly affected by the work and can't do it forever unless as you say they have that 'cruel streak' to start with. I don't know what the answer is. Maybe an automated system of some sort or not eating meat in the first place (which for many is not realistic)... Don't know.

[Maddy]

I am a meat eater and my dogs are raw fed meat but I find that to work in an abattoir you have to have a cruel streak. I have always advocated that the animal, until their last moments on this earth should be treated with dignity and respect including our food sources. Why oh why do these situations bring out the bad and cruel side of humans

My mother worked in an abattoir and she certainly doesn't have a cruel streak Obviously killing animals for meat is necessary if you want to eat meat. Being the one to do the deed doesn't make you any worse than the person eating the final product. In fact, I think it's pretty bloody hypocritical to sling about statements like yours and then go and enjoy the results of their work. If you believe the industry is populated by cruel people, stop supporting it?

Anyways..

The trouble with larger processing facilities is that time is money: time spent correctly training employees is money, time spent ensuring all equipment is operating correctly is money, time spent on best practice handling of livestock is money. When we want to be able to buy a steak for a few dollars, they have to cut costs to be able to keep turning a profit, simple as that.

You can't expect staff to understand the importance of accuracy in bolt placement if you don't teach them, same goes for understanding how certain methods are intended to work. Back when my mum worked in the industry, they didn't employ random people fresh off the streets to work on the kill floor, you had to work your way up through a lot of unpleasant jobs, learning as you went. The position of slaughterman was considered senior and highly skilled and was paid accordingly.

Gretna, on the other hand, was a very good example of terrible practices and poorly trained staff. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys with access to captive bolt guns.

Another reason why the industry no longer attracts skilled professionals the way it used to is the stigma attached to it. Even as recently back as when my mum worked in the industry (late 70s), there was no shame in the job. It paid well and was practical work. These days, there is a huge amount of stigma involved and that doesn't help in attracting the best people for the job.

It's easy to see abuse and assume all involved must be f***ed up in some way but more often than not, it's a result of the systems and culture in place. If people were willing to pay more for meat (and to eat it less often or eat poorer cuts/offal), it'd reduce a lot of the pressure but unfortunately, people expect top quality work for rock bottom prices and that's not how things work, ever

(As an aside, the reason my mum left the job was a car accident that shattered the bones in one of her arms. She suffered no trauma as a result of her job. The worst thing she could actually recall were human/knife accidents because the chain-mesh gloves/aprons were not mandatory back then and there were occasionally serious accidents from poor knife handling. Unpleasant but now thoroughly covered by OHS)

[persephone]

Excellent post , maddy.

[westiemum]

Good post Maddy and glad your Mum is well. However, I saw many many people come out of this sort of work in the 90's with mental health difficulties. No, not the whole work-force, but a lot. And yes I agree times have changed and not for the better. You're certainly right on the economic money. We need to pay these people better to attract skilled people and to do a good job or not eat or reduce meat consumption.

[twodoggies2001]

I am a meat eater and my dogs are raw fed meat but I find that to work in an abattoir you have to have a cruel streak. I have always advocated that the animal, until their last moments on this earth should be treated with dignity and respect including our food sources. Why oh why do these situations bring out the bad and cruel side of humans

My mother worked in an abattoir and she certainly doesn't have a cruel streak Obviously killing animals for meat is necessary if you want to eat meat. Being the one to do the deed doesn't make you any worse than the person eating the final product. In fact, I think it's pretty bloody hypocritical to sling about statements like yours and then go and enjoy the results of their work. If you believe the industry is populated by cruel people, stop supporting it?

Anyways..

The trouble with larger processing facilities is that time is money: time spent correctly training employees is money, time spent ensuring all equipment is operating correctly is money, time spent on best practice handling of livestock is money. When we want to be able to buy a steak for a few dollars, they have to cut costs to be able to keep turning a profit, simple as that.

You can't expect staff to understand the importance of accuracy in bolt placement if you don't teach them, same goes for understanding how certain methods are intended to work. Back when my mum worked in the industry, they didn't employ random people fresh off the streets to work on the kill floor, you had to work your way up through a lot of unpleasant jobs, learning as you went. The position of slaughterman was considered senior and highly skilled and was paid accordingly.

Gretna, on the other hand, was a very good example of terrible practices and poorly trained staff. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys with access to captive bolt guns.

Another reason why the industry no longer attracts skilled professionals the way it used to is the stigma attached to it. Even as recently back as when my mum worked in the industry (late 70s), there was no shame in the job. It paid well and was practical work. These days, there is a huge amount of stigma involved and that doesn't help in attracting the best people for the job.

It's easy to see abuse and assume all involved must be f***ed up in some way but more often than not, it's a result of the systems and culture in place. If people were willing to pay more for meat (and to eat it less often or eat poorer cuts/offal), it'd reduce a lot of the pressure but unfortunately, people expect top quality work for rock bottom prices and that's not how things work, ever

(As an aside, the reason my mum left the job was a car accident that shattered the bones in one of her arms. She suffered no trauma as a result of her job. The worst thing she could actually recall were human/knife accidents because the chain-mesh gloves/aprons were not mandatory back then and there were occasionally serious accidents from poor knife handling. Unpleasant but now thoroughly covered by OHS)

My point was that animals should be treated with respect to the end and in a lot of undercover filming which can be viewed,

that is certainly not the case.

That is where the cruel streak comes into the picture.