Urge the USDA to Put Video Cameras in Slaughterhouses

PETA's undercover investigations have repeatedly shown that when slaughterhouse workers think that no one is watching, animals suffer. At a slaughterhouse that supplies KFC, PETA investigators videotaped workers as they abused chickens. The workers stomped on chickens, kicked them, and violently slammed them against floors and walls. And at one of the largest cattle slaughterhouses in the country, PETA documented workers as they ripped the tracheas out of still-conscious cows. But if these workers had known someone was watching, this sadistic cruelty might never have happened.

PETA's undercover investigators can't be everywhere at once, and the USDA inspectors who are supposed to prevent the worst abuses of animals are not getting the job done. So we need your help—ask the USDA to install cameras in slaughterhouses.

Having workers watched all the time would serve as a strong deterrent against cruelty. Some members of Congress are already calling for video cameras to be installed in slaughterhouses. During a recent hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, Rep. Elijah Cummings said, "The time is long overdue to strengthen the practices at the USDA and to explore new methods of oversight, such as video surveillance."

We couldn't agree more, and we've been making this point to the USDA for some time. Now, we need you to take action. Please write to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer and demand that high-resolution video cameras be immediately installed in every slaughterhouse. The cameras need to be located in every part of slaughterhouses in which workers come into contact with live animals, and the cameras need to be recording whenever live animals are in these facilities. The footage should be archived and maintained by the USDA.