For immediate release:
January 24, 2022
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Newberry Seeds, SC – After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) documents revealed that workers at the Kraft Heinz Company slaughterhouse in Newberry County left side many turkeys die from heat stress Last summer, PETA sent a letter today to Eighth Attorney General, David M. Stumbo, urging him to review the matter and, if appropriate, charge with barbaric transportation in a the car against those responsible.
According to reports, on July 7, 2021, a USDA inspector found “many” dead turkeys in cages that were so “overcrowded” that the animals froze to death. Survivors showed signs of heat stress, including panting. The temperature at the time was 88 degrees, but most turkeys were housed in trailers, away from the cooling hoses that abattoirs are expected to use when temperatures are high. When one of the trailers was unloaded, the inspector found “[e]“continuous dead birds” have the bodies of at least two vehicles.
PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said: “If anyone leaves a dog dead in a car on an 88-degree day, they will face criminal charges and turkeys should suffer the same and be legal as well. protection law”. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation into the gruesome fate of these birds, who feel the same pain and fear as the animals that live in our house.”
PETA — in part, their motto that “animals are not ours to eat” — opposes ethnocentrism, a human worldview – supremacy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebookor Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Stumbo later.
January 24, 2022
The venerable David M. Stumbo
Solicitor
Eighth Judicial Circuit
Dear Mr. Stumbo:
I am writing to request your office (and local law enforcement, as you deem appropriate) to investigate and file applicable criminal charges against Kraft Heinz Company and its workers. responsible for many turkeys that die from the stress of being crammed in their cages at its slaughterhouse at 3704 Louis Rich Rd. in Newberry County. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in an attached report that the agency has just released to the public.
According to reports, on July 7, an FSIS inspector found “many” dead turkeys in cages that were so “overcrowded” that the animals were standing still. Survivors “obviously suffered from heat stress as noted by heavy gasping.” [and] wide necks. “Even though it was 88 degrees at the time, most turkeys were kept on trailers without a cooling hose – something slaughterhouses are expected to operate in during such high temperatures. After one of these trailers was taken down, a federal agent saw “[e]the birds died endlessly,” whose carcasses had filled at least two carts.
This conduct may violate SC Code § 47-1-50(A)(2) which, unlike state cruelty laws, protects turkeys. Please note that FSIS action does not relieve state law of criminal liability for slaughterhouses or their workers who commit acts of animal cruelty. To learn more about FSIS’s findings, please contact Dr. Phyllis Adams, the agency’s regional manager.
Please let me know if I can assist you. Thank you for your review and for the important work you do.
Best regards,
Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis
Crime investigation room
