USDA Inspector Jill Mauer, who has worked under both the traditional inspection system and the deregulated system, noted horrific conditions under the deregulated system.
In 2015, an Animal Outlook investigation revealed the horrors of high-speed
pig slaughter. Our shocking footage shows animals being beaten, dragged and
improperly stunned; much of the most egregious treatment was inflicted on
“downer” animals who were too sick or weak to walk. Our investigator also
witnessed dead pigs with pus-filled abscesses being processed for human
consumption and a supervisor sleeping on the job when he should have been
overseeing stunning protocol.
Now, amidst a global pandemic, the Trump administration is moving forward
with a rule that largely deregulates pig slaughter operations. This rule
will increase fecal contamination; allow diseased pigs, toenails, hair, and
abscesses for human consumption; and increase animal abuse, according to a
federal slaughterhouse inspector’s sworn statement.
The veteran USDA inspector’s statement was filed in federal court on Friday,
April 10, in support of a December lawsuit brought by Animal Outlook and six
other animal and environmental protection organizations to challenge a U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule. It comes as slaughterhouses across
the country shutter due to COVID-19 outbreaks, including Smithfield Foods’
Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant, which is slated to increase line speeds and
reduce federal oversight under the challenged rule. [In December, the Animal
Law Litigation Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School filed a lawsuit
challenging the rule in federal district court for the Western District of
New York in Rochester. The plaintiffs are Farm Sanctuary, Animal Equality,
Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Outlook, Center for Biological Diversity,
Mercy For Animals and North Carolina Farmed Animal Save. The Center for
Biological Diversity and Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School
serve as co-counsel in the case.]
The inspector, Jill Mauer, works inside Quality Pork Processors, the large
Minnesota slaughterhouse that Animal Outlook investigated, which has served
as a model for the USDA’s controversial move to reduce oversight of pig
slaughter nationwide.
Despite concerns from animal protection groups and consumers, the USDA
recently asked the court to dismiss the challenge, arguing that the rule’s
harms are speculative—even though the agency itself determined that
slaughterhouses responsible for 93 percent of pigs killed for food in the
United States will take advantage of the rule, and will slaughter about 11.5
million more pigs annually as a direct result.
In response, the plaintiffs fired back with a legal brief detailing why
these harms are imminent. The brief was supported by Mauer’s April 10
statement, which was obtained with the help of the whistleblower advocacy
organization Government Accountability Project Food Integrity Campaign.
Mauer, who has worked under both the traditional inspection system and the
deregulated system, notes that under the deregulated system:
Mauer’s statement highlights many of the same conditions our investigator
witnessed in 2015, indicating that profit-driven slaughterhouses cannot be
trusted to self-regulate at the expense of animal welfare and consumer
safety. And according to her attorney, Amanda Hitt, Mauer is the tip of the
iceberg. Hitt says she’s heard from many meat inspectors echoing the same —
and more — concerns about the new inspection system.
The work of AnimalOutlook.org only continues through the generosity of people like you. More than 90% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly to our lifesaving programs, legal advocacy, and undercover investigations. Please donate today: animaloutlook.org/donate.
Number of animals killed in the world by the fishing, meat, dairy and egg industries, since you opened this webpage.
0 marine animals
0 chickens
0 ducks
0 pigs
0 rabbits
0 turkeys
0 geese
0 sheep
0 goats
0 cows / calves
0 rodents
0 pigeons/other birds
0 buffaloes
0 dogs
0 cats
0 horses
0 donkeys and mules
0 camels / camelids