Local slaughterhouse under scrutiny after allegedly botching animal’s euthanasia

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — One slaughterhouse in Lexington could be facing legal action after allegedly botching the euthanasia of an animal at their facility.

Volunteer Meats in Lexington is under scrutiny after PETA claims it unjustly euthanized a cow. PETA also says this report was documented by a federal inspector with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, who publishes violations every few weeks on their website.

“A USDA inspector, who was stationed at Volunteer Meats, recently saw workers shoot a cow in the head, but leave the animal conscious and a worker then cut the conscious animals throat and the animal bled to death, which is against federal law,” said Colin Henstock, assistant director of project strategy with PETA.

PETA is calling on District Attorney Jody Pickens to investigate and file appropriate state and criminal charges against the slaughterhouse and the workers who were responsible for this animals death. PETA says it is seeking a small measure of justice for this animal, and attempting to put an end to the the ongoing incidents at this slaughterhouse.

“Federal inspectors have warned this facility multiple times since August 2021 for botching the slaughter of a least eight other animals, and that left them conscious and in pain after workers had shot them in the head. They’ve also warned them for confining dozens of animals without food and water,” said Henstock.

Federally inspected slaughterhouses that are allowed to ship meat between the states have USDA inspector stations on site whenever they’re operating and rotate throughout the facility. In slaughterhouses, it’s against the law to shoot animals more than once to stun them. They have to be rendered unconscious immediately.

“Shooting animals in the head and then cutting their throat while they’re still conscious isn’t something that’s approved by the slaughter industry and it’s a likely violation to the State Cruelty to Animals Law so we do hope that the district attorney takes this very seriously,” said Henstock.

According to PETA, as of now, there is no response from Jody Pickens’ office regarding their legal action request. The only thing the USDA can do is warn the slaughterhouse and allow them to resume operating.

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