Animal rights activists: remember the agony in the scandal slaughterhouse
The Ramsauer slaughterhouse, which has now gained notoriety due to the “rotten meat scandal”, was already the focus of animal welfare in 2015. Back then it was harrowing recordings that showed the mistreatment of pigs and cattle while driving. Beatings, electric shocks and stabbing with sharp objects were exposed in 2015. Four years later, videos from the company came to the public again. Also in 2019 – after Styrian politics and the veterinary system had announced increased controls and far-reaching improvements years earlier – cruelty to animals was still the order of the day!
Gas “stunning” with carbon dioxide
For years, the Ramsauer company operated a particularly cruel system for stunning pigs before they were killed. Using a gondola, several pigs were simultaneously lowered into a shaft that was filled with carbon dioxide. Filled with panic, fear and pain, the pigs tried to escape, screamed for their lives and hit their bodies against the metal. Terrible recordings were made in this “stunning box”. The pigs feel how they are suffocating. The CO2 leads to unconsciousness, but the path to it is terribly cruel,
describes VGT campaign manager David Richter.
David Richter from VGT continues: From the VGT’s point of view, the control system in slaughterhouses is inadequate. Videos four years apart show almost identical animal torment – and the veterinary officers, who were supposed to be controlling the slaughterhouse, just watch! This case shows not only the cruel animal torture practice in slaughterhouses, but also the failure of the veterinary authorities and politics, which did not intervene or intervened far too little.
Today, before the start of the trial, animal protection activists gathered in front of the regional court for criminal matters in Graz. Videos of the abuse are shown, banners and signs draw attention to the suffering. Once again there is a demand that there must be serious controls in slaughterhouses in order to put an end to this abuse.
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