Ada County calls in the feds on Meridian animal cruelty case
Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said Wednesday her office lacks jurisdiction to investigate whether a Meridian meatpacking plant broke any laws when it improperly stunned a steer.
Instead, she said, she will refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise.
“After reviewing the law, it has been determined that the Prosecutor’s Office does not have legal jurisdiction to handle a prosecution in this matter,” Bennetts wrote in a statement. Therefore, the office has referred this matter to the federal authorities who have proper jurisdiction.”
Cassie Fulghum, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, would not say whether her office is looking into the incident.
“Department of Justice policy does not allow us to comment on whether or not there is an investigation,” she wrote in an email to the Statesman.
Last month, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked Bennetts to open a criminal investigation after a food safety veterinarian watched a worker at Wayguud Custom Meat shoot a steer four times with a bolt gun before knocking it unconscious on Aug. 23.
“PETA thanks the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office for referring our investigation request and looks forward to seeing the U.S. Attorney’s Office review the case and, if appropriate, file criminal charges against the facility and the worker responsible for this animal’s agonizing death,” spokeswoman Audrey Shircliff said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Wayguud (which it mistakenly referred to as “Waygood”) for violating the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which calls for minimizing the suffering of livestock during slaughter operations. The agency called the incident at the company, which operates as Greenfield Custom Meats, an “egregious” violation.
The USDA suspended operations that day at the plant at 2965 W. Amity Road, one of 46 suspensions ordered nationwide over the previous 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.
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.”
Last month, Blake Brown, the plant’s general manager, told the Idaho Statesman the company has complied with the USDA’s directions following the incident.
Vicki Greenfield, whose family operated Greenfield Custom Meats for 50 years before selling the company to Vander Woude in January, told the Statesman after its initial story came out that the company had never before had an issue with humane animal practices. She said she felt “what happened to the animal was terrible,” but that the media attention was unwarranted.
This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 3:49 PM.