Dear Mr. Stuewe,

As a supporter of Animal Outlook, I am deeply concerned about Darling Ingredients' apparent business relationship with Manning Beef, a slaughterhouse with one of the worst records of humane handling violations in the country. I urge you to take immediate action to ensure that Darling Ingredients does not engage in future dealings with Manning Beef.

Between 2018 and 2024, Manning Beef incurred 61 humane handling violations, including starving animals, excessive shocking, and beating animals in the face. The USDA has twice suspended inspections at Manning Beef due to egregious acts of inhumane handling and repeated noncompliance with stunning requirements. Animal Outlook's recent undercover investigation revealed even more horrific abuses, including:

• A downed dairy cow being shocked over 20 times with an electric cattle prod after collapsing
• A cow shot in the head three times with a captive bolt gun
• A worker stabbing a cow in the back of the head, then draining the cow's blood by stabbing them in the throat. This cow moved for over two minutes in response to being stabbed, which indicated to multiple experts that the cow was likely sensible to pain
• Multiple cows being butchered while showing signs of sensibility to pain
• A cow vomiting while their face was skinned and being restrained while moving away from the knife
• A cow left on the floor of the slaughterhouse for over half an hour
• Extreme operational errors and equipment malfunctions. One cow was dropped head first from the slaughter line onto the concrete floor causing workers to jump backwards. 

Your company claims to take animal welfare seriously, as stated in your corporate policies. However, your business relationship with Manning Beef—one of the worst violators of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act - directly contradicts these stated values.

As a concerned consumer, I urge you to:

• Refuse to do business with Manning Beef in the future
• Publicly commit to not working with facilities that have repeated humane handling violations
• Confirm your position on this important matter

Your company's response to this issue will influence my future purchasing decisions and those of other conscious consumers. Please do the right thing and drop Manning Beef as a customer in the future.