Mar 1, 2008 8:26 pm US/Pacific
Slaughterhouse Worker: He Was Just Doing His Job
CHINO, Calif.
-
-
Undercover video shows a sick cow being jabbed with forklift blades at the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. in Chino, Calif.
The Humane Society/CBS
Supervisors ordered workers to butcher sick cows, or they would be fired, the former employee of a Chino meat-packing plant said Saturday in a published interview.
"You feel bad, but this is your job," said Rafael Sanchez Herrera, in a jailhouse interview conducted by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "They give you orders and you have to do it," he said in Spanish.
Herrera, an illegal immigrant, said he and his coworkers would have lost their $380 per week jobs if they didn't mistreat the animals and butcher cattle that were unfit for human consumption. He also said he didn't understand why charges were filed against him, but none of his coworkers and supervisors who instructed him on how to handle so-called "downer" cattle.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture forbids the use of such "downer" cows for food -- primarily because it could be more likely to cause illness, including mad cow disease. No illnesses have been reported.
Undercover video shot by a Humane Society agent showed sick cattle being abused by workers armed with forklifts and high-pressure hoses. Use of the sick cows uncovered by the tapes prompted the largest beef recall in history: about 143 million pounds of beef from the Chino meat packing company.
The Press-Enterprise contacted the Herrera at a San Bernardino County jail in the high desert, where he awaits trial on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and an outstanding drug charge.
Much of the recalled beef is believed to have already been consumed, although officials warn that people who have beef in their refrigerators or freezers purchased prior to Feb. 17 either discard the meat or confirm that the retailer's shipment did not come from Westland-Hallmark.
The partial list of retailers that received the recalled meat has been posted online by the state government at www.cdph.ca.gov.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
