Florida Meat Company Facing Criminal Charges

Finca el Novillo Found Practicing Inhumane Pig and Goat Slaughter

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office is laying criminal charges on a Florida meat company – Finca el Novillo for violating the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

The USDA’s Food Inspection Agency found the company was in contempt with slaughtering pigs and goats in an inhumane way. There are no details explaining the extent of the cruelty or what deemed the methods inhumane. More details have been provided relating to the violations under the Federal Meat Inspection Act describing the facility as having “unsanitary conditions” relating to the handling of the meat sold for human consumption. The attorney’s office said in a statement that the meat “may have become contaminated and been rendered harmful to health.”

The Humane Society U.S. (HSUS) is pleased with the conviction. “We applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for enforcing the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and cracking down on these slaughterhouse abuses,” says Paul Shapiro, Vice President of Farm Animal Protection for the HSUS.