On Friday, the Office of the Attorney General for the state of Vermont announced that criminal charges had been filed and arrest warrants issued in connection with cruelty to animals at Bushway Packing, Inc., a veal processing plant that is no longer in operation.
The charges stem from video footage obtained in 2009 by an undercover operative of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The video evidence revealed extreme cruelty to young calves, including excessive electric-shocking and one worker attempting to skin a calf alive. Following a complaint filed by HSUS, the USDA, Office of the Inspector General and Food Safety Inspection Service conducted their own investigation, which resulted in criminal charges against two former Bushway workers. The USDA also permanently shut down the slaughterhouse.
Tragically, the cruelty perpetrated against the calves at Bushway Packing is not isolated. Recent MFA investigations into two U.S. dairy factory farms - Willet Dairy and Conklin Dairy Farms - revealed unimaginable abuse, including the standard dairy industry practices of burning out the horns and cutting off the tails of young calves without anesthesia.
