ALDF Animal Legal Defense
Fund
July 2018
Lawsuit alleges Florida slaughter operations violate state animal cruelty and slaughter laws.... The cries and squeals of animals being killed are so loud and prolonged that residents and visitors to the neighborhood have started to cry after hearing the animals’ distress.
FORT MYERS, FL – On July 26 the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s
preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals, along with Foley &
Mansfield, Miami, filed a nuisance lawsuit to shut down black market
backyard slaughter operations outside of Fort Myers, Florida, for violating
state animal cruelty and slaughter laws. These operations, which have been
exposed by the Florida animal protection organization Animal Recovery
Mission, not only flout animal cruelty laws but also jeopardize public
health and safety by selling illegally slaughtered animals, including
horses, for human consumption.
“These backyard slaughter operations torture and illegally slaughter
animals, including pigs, goats, horses, and chickens, and then sell the meat
to the public,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen
Wells.
The horrific cruelty occurring at the slaughter operations is an affront
to compassionate Florida residents who demand that their state laws be
enforced.”
The Florida Humane Slaughter Act requires animals be unconscious and
rendered insensitive to pain prior to slaughter. The law also prohibits
people from shackling or hoisting animals with the intent to kill without
first rendering the animal insensitive to pain. However, videos of workers
at these backyard slaughter operations reveal that animals routinely regain
consciousness mid-slaughter. Workers stab squealing pigs repeatedly in the
chest and throat, and skin animals, such as goats, while they are still
kicking and showing signs of life. Conscious pigs, goats, and other animals
are dragged from holding areas to slaughter by their heads and tails, often
using large metal hooks.
The cries and squeals of animals being killed are so loud and prolonged that
residents and visitors to the neighborhood have started to cry after hearing
the animals’ distress. In one case, a worker took 30 minutes to cut off a
pig’s testicles. In other cases, live chickens and ducks have been thrown
into a bucket with dead birds to bleed out. Companion animals, including
dogs and ponies, are also being neglected on the slaughter operation
properties.
A copy of the complaint is available upon request.
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