High-Speed Horror: USDA to Dangerously Increase Slaughter Speeds

As ghosts and goblins descend on us this month, Compassion Over Killing is flooding the USDA’s offices with new ads to ensure all eyes are on another, real-life horror for millions of animals, workers, and consumers: the federal agency’s cruel and dangerous high-speed slaughter program.

Making matters even worse for the billions of chickens who are violently slaughtered for food in the US each year, last week the USDA announced criteria it would use to begin granting waivers to slaughterhouses that want to kill birds at the reckless speed of 175 animals every minute. The decision was made without the opportunity for the public to comment on the new criteria — despite the agency hearing from more than 100,000 concerned consumers last winter urging the USDA to refuse to grant these waivers at all.

Meanwhile, the USDA’s haunting high-speed plan for pig slaughterhouses still looms. Over a quarter million of you have signed COK’s petition urging the agency to abandon this reckless program, and we hand-delivered your signatures right to its doorstep this past spring.

Help keep the pressure on by donating today!

This Halloween, we’re back at USDA HQ, urging it to put the brakes on these real-life houses of horror. COK is flooding the agency’s block in Washington, DC, with geo-targeted cell phone ads featuring an ailing pig from our investigation of Quality Pork Processors, a slaughterhouse for Hormel, where animals were beaten, dragged, and excessively shocked as workers struggled to keep up with the high line speeds.

A second ad depicts a terrified chicken about to meet her fate at a Mountaire slaughterhouse, where COK revealed birds being violently thrown and slammed into shackles–even at current slaughter rates of up to 140 birds per minute.

Animals and workers already endure bloodcurdling suffering at slaughterhouses. And if the USDA has its way, billions of chickens and pigs will be killed at dangerously high speeds across the country. Help us keep the pressure on the USDA to protect animals, workers, and consumers by stopping the high-speed horror: Make a donation to our critical work today!