Expert calls Agriprocessors abbatoirs 'sloppy'

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, slaughterhouse expert Dr. Temple Grandin toured the Agriprocessors plants in Postville, Iowa, and Gordon, Neb., and deemed the facilities "sloppy" in an article written by Lynda Waddington for The Iowa Independent. Waddington did not say if PETA paid Grandin.

Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, is well-known for her extensive research of animal behavior, particularly in slaughterhouses. She claims her experience has taught her about three categories of facilities. "About 20 percent do things right nearly all the time. There is a large percentage that do things right most of the time, and there's also about 20 percent that tend to do things wrong, but will clean up their act when they are being audited," she said. "Within that bottom 20 percent, however, there is a very bottom 10 percent that has the most blatant problems and violations. That's where Agriprocessors is -- in that bottom 10 percent." The plant was the site of a huge immigration raid this year and is the largest kosher meat plant in the nation.

As a result of her findings, Grandin thinks all Agriprocessors facilities should be equipped with cameras to hold plant administration and personnel accountable for their treatment of animals. "We have management at Agriprocessors that has been reapeat offenders and have given us proof that they will not only behave when they know they are being watched," she said. Read the rest of the story here; for PETA's report, click here.