again and again i'm appalled by the horrific attitude of some human beings towards these poor animals! reading the above lines of this kind of criminal abuse i shall not have a nice Christmas and i'm asking myself when the day shall come on this cursed planet to bring peace and joy to every living soul - me i can't appreciate festivities knowing that in the same time millions of innocient animals are suffering in such hellish conditions! i wonder why so-called christian countries can sleep at night - also in the 'Holy Night' ignoring such nightmares! incredible but true and me i shall never understand it - never!

Posted by: animalfriend | December 24, 2007 12:01 PM

Good news! GREAT news! Now if only the whole Murphy Family Farm conglomerate could be shut down! If only Smithfield and ConAgra went out of business! Yes, I know that won't happen anytime soon, but if they keep on getting into the spotlight for abuse and mistreatment of their animals, sooner or later, it will happen. THAT will be a great day for animals!

Posted by: Susannah S | December 24, 2007 12:04 PM

Good job, (good thing you didnt shut it down, really)

Posted by: Caboose | December 24, 2007 02:11 PM

You know, if people are going to eat animals ...and I admit I am not completely veggie.

But even Alicia Silverstone said its ok as long as you do what you can (when she was on "The View"

Anyway, if people are going to continue to eat animals...there still is NO excuse for this kind of treatment of these beautiful beings.

It saddens me and its sickens me.

I think some of these people that work at these slaughterhouses need to be watched, as potential future serial killers. You know there is that connection.

BTW, I tried Boca meatless chili yesterday...added another meatless dish to my repetroire.

Posted by: Tamara | December 24, 2007 03:16 PM

i think someone should beat the f*** out of those people...i just watched the HBO documentary on ingrid and i cried through much of it. i was already a vegetarian, but if i had not been i would definitely be now. i just can not comprehend how people can treat other beings like that. the mere thought brings tears to my eyes, literally. i only wish those places could be shut down permanently...if only the entire world would be vegetarian.

Posted by: brad | December 24, 2007 06:20 PM

Hopefully, this story will help add to the number of vegans in the world!!

Posted by: antigone1000 | December 24, 2007 06:22 PM

Those people should do time in jail,i believe if a person is capable of doing that to an innocent creature,they are capable of murdering another human being.I just cannot understand the cruelty,it really breaks my heart.To think about the thousands of farms that have people like that working there abusing animals like that

Posted by: judy | December 24, 2007 07:22 PM

Eating animals is sick and wrong. It's also unnatural. The human body makes its own cholesterol, but not it's own vitamin C, scientifically proving that humans are herbavores.

Posted by: Aleasha | December 24, 2007 07:25 PM

Jack, I just wanted to bring to your attention that Paula Deen the crazy old bat from the Food Network does commercials for Smithfield Foods, as well as uses their products,in a manner which appears to be proudly. Maybe you could send her some video footage and let her know what is up at Smithfield's.

Posted by: Kris Shulfer | December 25, 2007 02:39 PM

Tamara, although it is definitely better to move toward a plant-based diet than it is to just do nothing, eating animals and animal products means that we are paying others to do horrific things to the animals involved. I've never seen any investigation at a factory farm or slaughterhouse (and all animals - egg-laying hens and dairy cows included - end up in the slaughterhouse) that did not result in proof of absolutely heinous abuse and cruelty. Yes, it's commendable to move away from eating animals and animal products, but when we know about the cruelty we need to take responsibility for our actions. Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice. We either choose to pay someone to do these things or we don't. The point is, what we can do is choose kindness. Please choose compassion. Take that step. Go vegetarian.

Posted by: jayx76 | December 25, 2007 04:20 PM

My daughter interned at Farm Sanctuary last summer. PLEASE check out her video on YouTube.com under Farm Sanctuary Internship 2007. After spending time with pigs and getting to know them as individuals with their own interests and unique personalities, the Smithfield torture and abuse attacks me on a deeper, more personal level. The years of my life that I ate animal flesh (and drank the milk meant for a baby cow) weighs heavy on my heart. Not only did I contribute to the misery of animals and cause their suffering, but I did it at a distance- sheltering myself from the violence, blood, screams and death. Also, I contributed to the exploitation of human beings- poor, uneducated, desperate for money- turning them into killers for $7.00/hour. It is easy for me to be horrified and to judge these people, but only 10 years ago it was me they were killing for. It had to start with me- opening my eyes, listening to the voice of my heart, raising questioning and compassionate children... Simply, it started with my own plate.

Posted by: Tracy C, RN | December 25, 2007 04:49 PM

Tamara, recent history suggests you have more to fear from postal workers and students than abattoir workers.
If someone really has the desire to kill for "fun" then a slaughterhouse may well be their best outlet, and safest for us all.

I agree no animal should be mistreated in the way described.

Posted by: rojo | December 25, 2007 07:43 PM

You can actually hear these poor pigs screaming in terror. Literally screaming! How awful.

Hey, why do so many factory farms castrate piglets? What is that for?

Tamara, I'm glad you added another veggie item to your foods! You are right, anything you can do will help. If you're a fan of chilli, try Hunts Seasoned Diced Tomatos for Chili with Veggie Crumbles (Boca brand or Morning Star Farms)!! Cook the tomatos with garlic and onions!! MMM! Good stuff!

Posted by: Jaclyn | December 25, 2007 10:25 PM

Those farmers deserve all they get..maybe someone should castrate them and cut off there legs without pain relief..we'll see how much they enjoy that.

Posted by: Mazza | December 26, 2007 07:37 AM

Tracy C, RN:
What an excellent and compassionate post! I agree on all the points you made. The people who do this, who work at slaughterhouses and/or abuse the animals in their charge aren't monsters, unfortunately. They're just like us only they're usually poor, often under-educated people who are down on their luck, can't get other types of work, live in isolation and have a lot of resentment and misery in their lives, so they inflict it on others. And you can bet that if they're treating the animals that way, they're treating their families that way, too. They get used to the horror of it, the killing, the screams, and they get angry, too, because their livelihood depends on how many they can kill; there's a penalty for getting behind, according to the book, "Slaughterhouse." If anyone here hasn't read that book, yet, make it a must. It's by Gail Steinmetz and it tells the whole story. These poor animals. When I think that I used to contribute to that when I ate meat, I could jump off a bridge somewhere. But that wouldn't help. What helps is to go vegan, or at least vegetarian, and then to keep on working to make these places history, to provide different, more humane, work for the people who now work at murdering other beings, and to provide sanctuary for animals now considered "food." Farm Sanctuary IS the place to go if you want to learn all about it, a beautiful place that demonstrates how life could be and, one day, will be for all beings.

Posted by: Susannah S | December 26, 2007 09:00 AM

Well,,,grats on "peta" to putting a stop to animal abuse where it is found,,but to want the world to stop eating meat is just crazy. I feel if you want to eat something,eat it. But,,just think,if every slaughter house closed down today,, people would still eat meat but they'd have to do the slaughtering themselves. With that thought alone,,animals would be more abused if people did all the slaughtering themselves. So,slaughter houses with strict guidelines i feel would be the best.

Posted by: Jason L | December 26, 2007 02:00 PM

What barbaric b******s! Oh, what I wouldn't give for just one minute with these pond scum, to give them a taste of pain.
They should not be allowed to share the same air as decent human beings.
God help those poor suffering animals.

Posted by: Mary | December 26, 2007 02:25 PM

rojo, you might want to take a peek at the book "Slaughterhouse", which Susannah S. mentioned above. Before I started reading it, I also wondered if slaughterhouse workers were less likely to be violent in the community than the typical person, but my eyes were opened to the fact that it is the exact opposite.

Slaughterhouse workers seem to have a high incidence of substance abuse, domestic violence, depression, and overall aggressive behaviour (that was not present before they started this "work"), perhaps because they have to become desensitized to what they are doing in order to keep functioning (which is basically all they are doing after awhile on the job).

Posted by: Michele | December 26, 2007 04:11 PM

This is fantastic news! I'm all for animal rights although I will admit that I do eat meat, except for pork after witnessing a pig being slaughtered when I was little and I also do not eat beef. I honestly have no intention of ever going vegan but something I'm passionate about is making the lives of these animals brought up for meat, milk and eggs more humane in pertaining to the method of killing and not being in the cages 24/7, not to mention the constant abuse. No animal deserves the torture

Posted by: yossi | December 26, 2007 05:08 PM

Now i am not completley veggie or vegan and i respect peoples decison to be so but i dont agree with people trying to force those lifestyles onto others.

I think yes you can ontroduce it to someone but you cant make them change thier whole diets.

And i'd like to say i am in no way for animal cruelty, it sickens me and any human being that thinks its fun to torture animals is sick and twisted.

And i think eating meat isnt cruel its just part of the food chain and lets think about it but if we didnt eat cows the place would over populate with cows, its just how nature works something eats somethin to live and also keep the population of that speacies under control.

But what i dont agree with is how we go about killing an animal for food, their are more humane quick and painless ways of doing so and we know it but we just dont choose to, and thats whats upsetting its like people get off on hurting an animal especialy when its vunerable by being chained up feet first in some slaughter house.

Animals kill out of instinct but us humans kill for fun, greed, money and sport.

Things need to change!!!!!!!

Posted by: beth | December 26, 2007 05:52 PM

It is incredible that we still live in an era where there is such barbarity in our food production. But I find solice in the thought that in the future our times will be looked on with empathy, for we are still developing, and still only just out of the darkness of histories past. For the vegans and vegetarian reading this, congratulations on setting an example and making a difference in the world, its not easy to be ahead of your time, but there is so much inner peace and happiness in doing so, our best weapon is the healthy lives we live and our compassion for the animals and the plant we share! Not only are we obliged to live in a way that is morally correct, but we should do all we can to promote and help those that are not at that awareness yet, we should not do that with anger, or violence, we should do that with compassion and love and understanding. We have come from a history of misunderstanding, it is our job to help our fellow beings evolve!

Posted by: Shane U | December 26, 2007 07:09 PM

Firing them is not enough! PETA should not stop until they are sent to jail and Murphy Farms is held responsible for this kind of behaviour by their employees.
People who are capable of such cruelty are dangerous human beings. They must be submitted to rigorous psychological and behavioural therapy. I don't believe people who can do that during the day, go home and are nice to their cats and dogs, wife and kids at night. These are violent, sick individuals.

Posted by: NT | December 26, 2007 08:31 PM

WTF!! i think we need to bring back "an eye for an eye" i swear, i'm so tired of this crap, i admit every now & then i eat meat but it's getting less & less with every sad story i hear about the mistreatment of animals :(

Posted by: b swift | December 27, 2007 12:38 PM

I find it rather interesting that the same people who say slaghtering these animals is cruel are the same people who say "Those farmers deserve all they get..maybe someone should castrate them and cut off there legs without pain relief" and "What barbaric b******s! Oh, what I wouldn't give for just one minute with these pond scum, to give them a taste of pain." I've never worked in a slaughter house nor do I want to but who is the barbaric person now!!! Way to make your ethical point!

Posted by: Spt378 | December 27, 2007 01:01 PM

when i saw that video i had nightmares for a week straight.its just to bad they were not closed down.

Posted by: LuAnne | December 27, 2007 02:17 PM

Most of the practices shown here, by these callous and insensitive people are very cruel and unnecessary, but to castrate piglets without numbing medicine is fairly standard. The castration is done to make the pig more manageable and gain more weight as an adult. The castration process itself is done on piglets with fairly small scrotums. The numbing process itself would probably be nearly as painful as the castration. Does that mean that I would let a urologist work on my scrotum without lidocaine? No, but that is genuinely medically different. Lidocaine injection as any vasectomy victim will tell you, is usually very painful in and of itself. To ask the pig farmers to use anesthetics during this process is terrifically impractical and likely of no benefit to the piglet. The piglets scream bloody murder during the process, but piglets do that if you simply pick them up in a pen so I don't know how much pain is involved, but you probably can't judge this by piglet vocalization.

Posted by: Christopher Cochran MD | December 27, 2007 04:54 PM

I don't agree that someone who is only down on their luck would take such a job. You have to have a certain mentality to commit such cruelty and I think that people willing to do it have other issues. In other words, I do not think it is a result of circumstance but rather a symptom of a person with problems. If you think about it, the serial killers all started by abusing animals. I would never abuse an animal, nor would I become a serial killer. So--I think there is more of a connection there than just someone being down on their luck.

Posted by: Antigone1000 | December 27, 2007 05:11 PM

The only appropriate response for this despicable example of subhumanity is for them to have the exact same things done to them that they did to these poor animals.

Posted by: Preston | December 27, 2007 05:28 PM

The only appropriate response for this despicable example of subhumanity is for them to have the exact same things done to them that they did to these poor animals.

Posted by: Preston | December 27, 2007 05:28 PM

michele, I'll have a look for the book. I did a quick look for incidents involving these workers and murder, and couldn't see any over representation in the stats.

If they are more likely to be subject to depression, substance abuse etc, it really is going to stem from their social background and education level. It's not the most sought after career, left to those with few options.

Posted by: rojo | December 27, 2007 05:59 PM

Tracy, you truly have a kind heart. i too feel that way often. literally i want to throw up when I think of all I did to contribute in the past as well. Please forgive yourself and know that you are making a difference now and that is important. you cannot change the past, you can only move forward. Thank you for changing your life to make yourself and the people you love choose to make better choices today.

Posted by: Kris Shulfer | December 27, 2007 07:24 PM

This is Good News...even though I like many others would much rather the place just did not exist any longer.

Rojo...Michelle is right you certainly need to pick up the book “Slaughterhouse” you will find that the abuse certainly does not stop at the slaughter house...it ends up at home, it ends up with excess drinking problems...it is a vicious cycle to where no one is safe! Recently there was an article about a guy that had a small slaughterhouse he was caught recently and labeled a serial killer after killing 23 people 6 of the females were killed in the slaughter house in the exact way the animals are killed. You either go insane from working in this place or you are insane the day you take the job!

Posted by: Dana | December 27, 2007 09:03 PM

oh i was so grief-stricken after i watched the article and video. after reading the comments, i decided to pray to God for the sake of all our fellow living beings. I am currently on what u may call a Leviticus(sp?) diet so i dont eat pork coz it's unclean it does not chew its cud, but i feel they r so cute nonetheless and it's a great SIN to torture them so! but im goin'vegetarian by when i turn 16(i.e when i more or less complete growing), and the Bible did many times say that those who kill should be put to death, and 1 of the 10 commandments is Do not kill. i personally feel those workers need jesus christ, and read Bible often and understand the needs of their fellow creatures, and step into the pigs' shoes, think about what they would feel if they were the pigs instead, and, there were the humans, taller, more powerful, stronger than them torturing them so.

Posted by: Mathilda | December 28, 2007 05:27 AM

Dear Jason L:
"If every slaughterhouse closed down today people would still eat meat, but they'd have to do the slaughtering themselves."
Precisely. And, given that, how long do you think most people would continue to eat meat? Probably about as long as it took to poleaxe the first steer, or pig, and slit its throat. "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarian", as the wise man said. If we can't get the slaughterhouses closed down tomorrow, then bring on the glass walls! Let it be the case that everyone would have to kill the meat they eat for themselves, that they'd have to hear the screams, watch the animals cry and struggle to live. There would be a minority who could do it, that's true, and many who could be much more humane than what is the "norm" right now. But closing the factory farm and the slaughterhouse would literally change the world overnight and make it a better place for everyone, defintely for the animals. Would there be abuses? Sure. But I bet there wouldn't be as many as are commonplace right now, every day. Take a hard look into where your meat comes from, and you'll see what I mean. Meanwhile, have some broccoli and make friends with a pig or a cow! They're wonderful animals when given love, consideration and respect.

Posted by: Susannah S | December 28, 2007 11:56 AM

Antigone 1000: read "Slaughterhouse." Gail Steinmetz knows what she's talking about much more than I do, and she says that many slaughterhouses are the main source of employment in poor, rural areas where there IS no other income, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get people to work there. A good example of that is the pig factory on an indian reservation in Idaho that came in, allegedly, to give the Native Americans there some work. Nearly all of the people there now wish they'd never come. This is the Rose factory farm. They've ruined the land, their working conditons are deplorable and the pigs suffer terrible neglect and abuse at the hands of the supervisors who oversee these operations.
The workers on factory farms and in slaughterhouses are often a)poor with no transportation or access to other work
b)illegal immigrants, often Latino c)transitory workers, like migrant workers, who got stuck somewhere and couldn't get back home or d)people who couldn't get any other work anywhere else for a variety of reasons. There are few, if any, regulations on how long these people have to work or what they're paid, and there is often woefully inadequate supervision resulting not only in the cruelty you see on this video, but in serious injury to the workers. It's horrible work, in all sorts of ways.
Several people here have talked about how it's OK to continue to eat meat as long as humane regulations were enforced, etc. That does not, can not and will not happen, certainly not in the large, corporate slaughterhouses. Even the veterinarians who are supposed to monitor these places are totally ineffective in an environment in which speed and production are the only criteria. The only permanent answer to this is to stop eating meat. Period. Where there's no demand, there's no supply and all of these places would eventually shut down. What would happen to the cows? There would be less cows bred and born, to begin with, and a little at at time, farming would go back to the small farmers, where it should have stayed, to begin with. There would be many less cows and many less chickens and pigs, but that would take a long time because there are already millions and millions of them bred for food. And frankly, that's a silly question, because NONE of this would happen overnight, anyway. It takes a while to get through all of these justifications and "reasons" why it's OK to eat meat, but keep an open mind and keep reading, and one by one, those justifications will disappear. For anyone with a will to find out the truth about meat "production", there is, in the end, only one solution: GoVeg. That isn't "forcing" an idea on anyone. It's just what happens once you go deeper into how your meat gets to your plate.

Posted by: Susannah S | December 28, 2007 12:27 PM

I know piglets will scream when you simply pick them up, but I would think that castrating them hurts A LOT more than simply picking them up.

You always answer my questions. Thanks!!

Posted by: Jaclyn | December 28, 2007 01:59 PM

Susannah:

I don't disagree with you that workers at slaughterhouses come from the poorer levels of society. However--I still believe you have to have a certain mentality to take such a job, no matter your circumstances. There are plenty of poor people who would never think to work in such a place. And I do not believe that their circumstances excuse them in any case. People who are down on their luck often murder and rob as a result and their dire circumstances don't excuse them from paying for those crimes. Even though these people did not commit a legal crime, it was a moral crime and I think they will pay for it in some way, as they fully deserve. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever and never will.

Posted by: Antigone1000 | December 28, 2007 02:44 PM

Jaclyn,
Sure it hurts, but not much more than a shot of lidocaine, which also is quite painful. To not castrate the boar piglets would be a disaster for the farmer.

Posted by: Christopher Cochran MD | December 28, 2007 04:22 PM

As a North Carolinian I am very ashamed of what is going on in my very on backyard.

As a human being i am ashamed of what my fellow men are doing to these gentile creatures.

When I saw this video i couldn't help but cry. I have seen some other PETA slaughter house videos but none of horrifying nature.

My own personal experience is that i am an equestrian and used to board my horse at a barn with many different farm animals.

I had become close to a pig there. He was very sweet. He would stand there and let you pet him and loved to be scratched behind the ears, haha.

But a couple of weeks later they sent him to the slaughter house. Just imagining the pain that he had to go through in this process is difficult to behold.

Posted by: Courtney | December 28, 2007 05:06 PM

Antigone:
I agree that the vast majority of poor people would never work in slaughterhouses. I was trying to point out, though, that there often isn't other work available in places where there are large slaughterhouses. That's why the slaughterhouses build there. But you're right that it's still a choice whether or not to work there, and I, too, have much more sympathy for the pigs than for the people abusing them. Sometimes, in trying to be fair, I think I seem to be defending the abusers, which I would never do. There is no defense, no excuse, in the abuse of an animal, no matter what one's circumstances or "reasons why". I will never forget the video of these pigs, anymore than I will forget the video of the chickens being stomped on by the Moorfield workers who supply KFC, and the suffering of these animals far outweighes whatever excuse that their human tormentors can offer.

Posted by: Susannah S | December 29, 2007 10:48 AM

Susannah S,
Slaughterhouse was written by Gail A. Eisnitz - not a criticism, just so people can find it easier. Humane slaughter(oxymoron or not) is achievable, and is a more realistic objective than a meatless world.
Plenty of people continue to slaughter their own animals for meat, and plenty more did in the past - prior to commercial abattoirs. It is true if slaughter houses closed plenty wouldn't, but naive to think meat consumption would be in anyway close to ending.

Michele and Dana, The problem I have with "Slaughterhouse" is that there is not a lot of evidence to back it up. We are certainly looking at a socio-economic group one would associate with domestic violence, but we all know such violence exists where no animal links exist, and in all sections of the community. Until i find a copy I can only assume the writer uses the worst cases she can find and presents them as the norm.

Some study on the topic is addressed here: http://www.cabtsg.org/Resources/animalabuse.pdf

The Canadian pig farmer is a stark example of course, but vegetarian serial killers exist too. Conversely 99 point-something percent of livestock producers(or vegetarians) don't end up killing anyone.

Posted by: rojo | December 30, 2007 07:37 AM

disgusting. listen, animals know fear just as we do. you have a cat, for example, and your cat has it's own personality, different from any other cat, like our finger prints or our own personalities. don't you think that animals are equal to us in spirit? i have a dog, yoda, i am his pack leader, but he is my brother, he is my friend, he is my family, he is equal in spirit to me. think about it, people.

Posted by: candice | December 30, 2007 12:49 PM

A lot of farm factory workers HATE their job, so they abuse the animals, which are suffering already from the HORRIFIC FILTH they are forced to endure. They torture them for kicks-they get their rocks off hearing these helpless living creatures scream in TERRIBLE agony which sounds suprisingly human, even pleading for their lives. And they keep on torturing them. Sadistic. SICK! The animals are defenseless, that's why they do it. Sounds like the perfect makings of serial killers to me. In my humble opinion. For these people lack a conscience. That is why they can do such hideous things. And that is why serial killers do what they do.

Posted by: Luke | January 1, 2008 04:45 PM