WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Feds Close Vt. Slaughterhouse

Feds Close Vt. Slaughterhouse

Grand Isle, Vermont - October 30, 2009

The USDA shut down a Vermont slaughterhouse Friday after an undercover investigation revealed numerous cases of alleged animal abuse.

"No one's happy about the slaughter house, said Lisa Brown, a neighbor of Bushways Slaughterhouse the past 20 years. Brown and others who live nearby have complained about the smell and the noise. "There are some neighbors that have started a petition at times," she said.

But now the slaughterhouse is closed. The USDA and the Vermont agriculture agency raided the Grand Isle facility and shut it down after an undercover investigation allegedly revealed shocking cases of animal abuse. A member of the U.S. Humane Society spent seven months working undercover at the plant. That investigator carried a hidden camera and documented young calves being slaughtered while they were still conscious. Others were kicked, slapped, and repeatedly shocked with electric prods.

A 2007 Humane Society investigation revealed abuse of downed cows at a California slaughter plant -- prompting the largest meat recall in U.S. History. The Grand Isle plant is USDA inspected. US. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the scenes in the video are unequivocally unacceptable and says his agency will conduct a criminal investigation. The Vermont Attorney General has also been notified.

Workers at the plant declined comment. Ron Bushway, an owner of the plant told Channel 3 that most of the scenes recorded in the video are standard procedure in the industry.

Keagan Harsha - WCAX News