Animal Partisan has filed an administrative complaint against Shepherd's Touch, a Pennsylvania halal slaughterhouse, with both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). The complaint stems from an undercover investigation conducted at the slaughterhouse and alleges violations of numerous federal laws intended to protect animals, consumers, and workers. Animal Partisan’s complaint asks the USDA to terminate the slaughterhouse’s status as a “custom exempt” establishment, something of a regulatory loophole which allows certain facilities to operate without regular federal inspection. The complaint also asks the USDA to investigate the slaughterhouse’s sanitation and recordkeeping practices, and requests that OSHA investigate possible workplace safety infractions.
The investigation documented video of workers and customers cutting the throats of animals in a manner that may violate the “ritual slaughter” exemption in the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. The investigation also identified concerns with the facility's sanitation practices as regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, including blood, feces, and trash (including bottles and latex gloves) on or near the killing floor, as well as a dumpster overflowing with trash.
Finally, the investigation disturbingly documented several children allowed to roam freely around the slaughtering floor. Children under the age of 18 walked or stood in close proximity to animals flailing violently as they were positioned for slaughter, sharp knives, and floors slicked with the blood of animals recently butchered. The complaint asks OSHA to investigate whether these practices violate federal workplace safety laws.
More details and video can be found at the link HERE.
