Woolley bros abatoir

[estweyn 10]

I have recently read articles and seen videos which show the horrendous mistreatment of animals going to slaughter for our meat table. Pigs kicked , punched, cigarettes put out on them, not properly stunned before being bled and still alive when dipped in the scalding water, cows having horns and legs chopped off while still alive and screaming in pain. It really is a disgrace and fortunately many supermarkets are now demanding compulsary cctv footage in every abatoir. I live near woolley bros and often see the animals turn up for slaughter and feel badly about it so decided to do some research.. I am asking does anyone know if things have changed, this is the report.

Gabriele Meurer is a German vet who worked as an official veterinary surgeon at Woolley Brothers abattoir in Sheffield for four months between September and December 1997. She left the country feeling completely disillusioned and now works in abattoirs in Sweden. She spoke out about her experiences for the first time in a letter to Viva!:

 

"The OTM cattle (over thirty months) were treated particularly badly. All OTMs were slaughtered and their carcasses were incinerated because of BSE. These animals had no value at all.

 

"Often there were too many cows on a lorry. Some could hardly walk. The ramps were much too steep and slippery and occasionally a cow fell. Sometimes she could not get up again and was forced to do so by being beaten and kicked - if I did not prevent this which I did.

 

"No animal likes to enter the lairage. So they were pushed, beaten, kicked. Electric goads were used practically all the time. There was no bedding in the pens and nothing to eat for the animals who stayed overnight. Sometimes there was no drinking water for the cattle who ended up standing in the gangway between the pens because too many animals were taken in.

 

"The men were pushing, beating, kicking and using electric goads all the time. Almost no animal would walk into the stunning box by its own free will.

 

"Most animals get diarrhoea because they are so frightened, so they and the whole place are covered with ****.

 

"Many animals are bleeding and have open wounds and bruises. The slaughtermen bang the gates which fall down from above on the cattle's back all the time. The place was terribly noisy.

 

"A big problem is the lack of time. A certain number of animals have to be slaughtered each day and so there is no time for animal welfare. Time is money.

 

"The problem is worst with the pigs. The slaughtermen are in such a hurry that they often don't put the electric tongs in the correct position on the pigs' heads. The pigs get only half or insufficiently stunned, wake up while they bleed and are obviously still alive and conscious when they plunge into the boiling water.

 

"Sheep are stunned just as badly.

 

"To stun cattle correctly is not an easy job either. It asks a lot of skill on behalf of the slaughterman. Not many animals stand still. They are all upset, some frightened to death and some move violently. The animals are never given time to calm down. Some of them won't calm down no matter what you do.

 

"Sometimes the slaughterman misses, wounding the animal terribly instead of stunning it. It may happen that the second shot cannot be done immediately and the animal is suffering terribly for quite some time. There should be two guns available that are in order. Unfortunately this is not so all the time.

 

"What I hated most of all was the slaughter of pregnant animals. There is no animal welfare for unborn ones at all. I have seen these creatures kick inside their dying mothers. They probably drown to death. When the maternal blood stops flowing they - as I believe - start breathing. Do we have to slaughter pregnant cows? Can't we wait until their calves are born? This is unbelievably cruel.

 

"Very young calves are slaughtered in Britain. There is hardly anything to eat on these animals. I completely condemn the slaughter of young calves and even older ones. Can't we give them some time to live? Are we that greedy?

 

"Stunning chickens and turkeys electrically is also deficient. Many birds are not stunned at all when their throat is cut.

 

"Pigs and many birds die on the lorry when it's hot outside.

 

"The way animals are slaughtered in Britain, in Sweden and probably anywhere else is disgusting."

 

Testimonies from slaughtermen

 

During May 2000, Viva! spoke to slaughtermen across the country about their work. Their comments reveal the grave concern which those working inside abattoirs have about both animal welfare and meat hygiene regulations.

 

John, West Midlands

 

Currently working in a pig abattoir

Edited December 21, 2011 by auto98uk
added quote tags

[Norbert 145]

My mate did some electrical work at the Woolley Bros abattoir many years ago, he hasn't eaten an ounce of meat since.

[fling 10]

I seen quite a few of them on their works Xmas do last night.

 

After seeing the state of them I might become a veggie

[animal2477 10]

like every abatoir in the uk they have to adhere to MHS standards and have a vet on site if anything like this is/was happening they'd be shut down

[alex3659 11]

Isn't quoting events from 1997 a tad late?.

[Leah-Lacie 10]

The OP does ask if things have changed since this report...

[alex3659 11]

The OP does ask if things have changed since this report...

 

Well the Beatles have split up.

[aberdeen 10]

It sounds horrendous.

 

If this kind of cruelty was going on and such allegations were proven at the time, surely they should have been investigated. I would like to believe this is no longer the case now and that all abattoirs are fully monitored!!

[estweyn 10]

Sorry aberdeen, not all abattoirs are monitored. There is very recent evidence (2011) that some still have horrendous conditions for the animals. I am not anti meat eating, each to their own, but until conditions are improved throughout the UK I cannot bring myself to eat meat if I do not know how it has been killed. There is considerable cctv footage taken undercover of the true conditions in many abattiors, that is why it is good news that many supermarkets are joining the cause that all abattiors have compulsary cctv. I am asking about Woolley bros because

a. It is near me

b. I wanted to know if anyone was aware of the practices within the place

c. I did a search and the above article by a vet turned up. Ok its 1997 and legislation has changed but if cruelty such as the above has slipped the net in other places it is entirely possible at Woolley Brothers.

 

I think Alex you may find the beatles split up well before 1997.

[shanes teeth 10]

Well the Beatles have split up.

 

Not since 1997 they haven't.

[alex3659 11]

Not since 1997 they haven't.

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.

 

What was that flying over your head?.:hihi:

[Cookingfat 10]

i thought a vet had to be there all the time whie slautering was going on