Humane Slaughter?

Case Oldenburg

Again, there is a slaughterhouse charged for cruelty against non-human beings. After another slaughterhouse in Bad Iburg (within Osnabrück) was closed due to non-human beings abuse in October 2018, now another slaughterhouse is charged for the same reason. (1)The animal rights organization ‘Deutsches Tierschutzbuero’ provided video footage at over 10 hours in length, which was made undercover in the Standard-Fleisch GmbH & Co. KG in Oldenburg slaughterhouse, in September and October 2018. The videos show how cattle are not professionally stunned, but killed with a knife while they were still conscious. Also, the video footage shows how the cattle is agonized with electro shockers up to 28 times, which is illegal, and how they are violently compelled to leave their boxes with blowing paddles. (2)

Barbara Otte-Kinast (CDU), agriculture Minister of Lower Saxony said that she was horrified and angry. Within two weeks, she received the pictures of mistreated cattle and apparent violations of the Animal Protection Law. (1)

Standard-Fleisch GmbH & Co. KG

Standard-Fleisch GmbH & Co. KG belongs to the ten biggest slaughterhouses in Germany (ranked eighth in 2016). 90.000 of cattle are slaughtered here each year. Also, the business is certified for organic meat, and they slaughter, at least one time a week, a non-human being of organic husbandry. There is tight cooperation with Böseler Goldschmaus GmbH since 2017, which is one of the biggest businesses for the distribution of meat products. (2)After the pictures of the violations became public, Böseler Goldschmaus GmbH claimed to be shocked and that they have decided, for the time being, that they do not want to task Standard-Fleisch GmbH & Co. KG with new slaughters.

The Slaughterhouse admitted to the accusations, saying they are shocked, too, and that this is far from the standard of their businesses. They had examined their control system and have identified the individual employees who had acted so violently. They were all contracted workers, and these people will not be used again. Also, they are trying to stop the collaboration with a subcontractor. (1)For now, the business is closed down, and the 14 regular members of staff are engaged somewhere else. (3)

The Future

At the moment, a prosecutor is investigating the business for the possible violations of the Animal Protection Act.

Jan Peifer, a member of the organization ‘Deutsches Tierschutzbuero’ said that the material shows severe criminal violations of the Animal Protection Act. Therefore, the business has to be closed indefinitely and those responsible need to be called to account for their crimes. The State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Laves) will examine the business and decide if the authorization will be withdrawn. A veterinarian of Laves will be sent to the slaughterhouse for at least one week, to monitor the sector of drift, narcotization, and killing of cattle. (1)

Deutsches Tierschutzbuero accuses three veterinarians for their involvement in the cruelty against non-human beings and for not taking action when other employees tortured the cattle, which is their duty as the control authorities. (3)

#humaneslaughterisalie?

A viral hashtag on Instagram is #humaneslaughterisalie. However, what is meant by that? Everybody seems to be pretty concerned about the happenings in Oldenburg, and all would agree that this is inhumane. This means that we admit, as humans, that non-human beings can suffer and have feelings, too. Otherwise, there would be no need for worrying about the violations of Animal Protection Laws. So, is there a way to kill a non-human animal, who does not want to die and feels fear and pain, humanely?

3.5 million cattle are slaughtered across 3000 slaughterhouses in Germany each year. There are legal requirements to minimize the suffering that comes with these killings. However, in 2018 alone, five slaughterhouses were temporarily or indefinitely closed due to the abuse of non-human beings. This always happens because of undercover research by animal welfare supporters. (2) Usually, it would be the duty of the government that the legal requirements for these businesses are met and fulfilled, but the system is not working for animals. Sadly, this means a painful and fearful, often slow, death for many non-human beings.

Tethered housing is very common for cattle. One step back, one step ahead—that is all the mobility they have. On average, cattle have a life expectancy of up to 25 years,(4)you could say luckily, but they never reach this age in this industry.

Next time you enjoy your steak, maybe think of the individual you are eating and what their life looked like. You are financing this industry, and if we would stop buying, we could stop the suffering immediately.

Please sign the petition: https://www.tierschutzbuero.de/realitaet-schlachthof/petition/

Word count: 753 words

References

1. Guettel, I. (2018). Neuer Skandal um Schlachthof. Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.259. 7.

2. Deutsches Tierschutzbüro (2018). Realität Schlachthof. Available at: https://www.tierschutzbuero.de/realitaet-schlachthof/[accessed 14.Nov. 2018].

3. Reuter, H. (2018). Schlachthof ist stillgelegt. Neue Presse. 265. 6.

4. Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE) (2018). Wie lange leben Rind, Schwein, Schaf und Huhn? Available at: https://www.landwirtschaft.de/landwirtschaft-verstehen/haetten-sies-gewusst/tierhaltung/wie-lange-leben-rind-schwein-schaf-und-huhn/[accessed 14.Nov. 2018].