Meridian slaughterhouse cited for ‘egregious’ conduct. PETA calls for cruelty probe

A national animal rights organization has asked for a criminal investigation into a Meridian meat processor after a food safety veterinarian watched a worker shoot a steer four times with a bolt gun before knocking it unconscious.

The procedure should have taken a single shot.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Wayguud Custom Meat (which it mistakenly referred to as “Waygood”) for violating the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which calls for minimizing the suffering of livestock during slaughter operations. The agency called the Aug. 23 incident at the company, which operates as Greenfield Custom Meats, an “egregious” violation.

“The (veterinarian) inspected the skull and confirmed that three of the stun applications were clustered above the right eye orbital bone, and the fourth hole penetrated the skull in the central forehead region,” the report read.

A bolt stun gun propels a metal bolt into the head of an animal to knock it out. USDA rules call for animals to be “rendered unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort.”

The USDA suspended operations that day at the plant at 2965 W. Amity Road, one of 46 suspensions ordered nationwide over the past six months. Four days later, the agency allowed the slaughterhouse to reopen after company owner Simon Vander Woude assured the agency they would provide hands-on training and monitor each employee using the stun gun.

Blake Brown, the plant’s general manager, told the Idaho Statesman the company has complied with the USDA’s directions following the incident.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter Monday to Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts calling for an investigation and, if appropriate, to file animal cruelty charges against the plant and the worker involved.

“These disturbing revelations show that this steer suffered a prolonged, agonizing death at Wayguud Custom Meat,” Daphna Nachminovitch, a PETA senior vice president, said in a statement.

PETA said it has sought investigations at 15 of the 46 slaughterhouses ordered closed by the USDA. An Idaho Statesman review of USDA records turned up no previous suspensions at Wayguud in the past year.

Scott Bandy, Ada County’s chief deputy criminal prosecutor, said his office is determining which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over animal cruelty allegations against a meat processor. He said the prosecutor’s office, which does not conduct criminal investigations, will refer the matter to the appropriate agency.

Brown declined to comment on PETA’s call for a criminal investigation.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 3:19 PM.