Why are slaughterhouses getting away with violating hsa?

The HSA, Humane Slaughter Act was supposed to ensure that animals are getting stunned 100℅ unconscious and enduring no pain or suffering, but I've read and seen videos of people violating the act and getting away with it. And, I've read that very little action has been taken towards slaughterhouse workers who have violated the act.

I am strongly against animal suffering and don't like them getting slaughtered, but I can accept them being slaughtered better if the lambs, pigs, chickens, and cows are really getting stunned 100℅ unconscious for slaughter and feeling absolutely nothing between the second they're stunned and the second they pass away from their blood draining out from getting their throats slit. I hope that they're feeling nothing, but some of the sources I've seen are showing otherwise.

I know that many people don't understand how I feel since there are still lots of meat eaters in America, and they don't seem concerned about this. Hell, I've worked with people who came from farms who used to do their own slaughtering, and one guy even told me he didn't always render his animals unconscious and that inspite of the HSA, the law generally doesn't care that much if it's violated because they're livestock animals and hey, there is meat served from these animals in almost every restaurant and sold under cellophane in almost every grocery store and supermarket across the country.

I know that many people don't care about this. Is it normal that I feel so concerned about the animals and can't stand the thought of them suffering?

Voting Results
71% Normal
Based on 17 votes (12 yes)
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Comments ( 90 )
  • CozmoWank

    MMMmmmmm bacon.

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    • LloydAsher

      I'm alright with the current margin of error for slaughter houses.

      I want a social experament to be set up to see of people really care about animals over price. You have two plates of chicken breast tell people that one the chicken knocked out before death but I costs slightly more than the chicken plate that wasn't knocked out. Then adjust the price accordingly to see when the majority switches to the cheaper meat.

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      • palehorse

        That's probably already a thing.

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        • LloydAsher

          Even if the non cruelty chicken was 5 cents more I would take 5he cruelty chicken.

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          • A 5 cent difference is practically nothing though, unless you're in like homeless levels of poverty. You probably waste a lot more than that just by leaving electrical appliances to charge for too long, etc.

            It's like you want to cause more suffering or something.

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            • LloydAsher

              No I care more about saving five cents then if the animal died cruelty free. If it was an equal price I would choose cruelty free.

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          • Are you a Christian? Just curious.

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          • RoseIsabella

            I wouldn't...

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          • CozmoWank

            Off with their heads.

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    • Indigo1

      pigs are very intelligent compared to lots of animals.

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      • RoseIsabella

        Pigs are probably much nicer than plenty of the humans that other humans refer to as pigs as an insult.

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        • The pigs were the most terrified of all the animals in those horrible videos, they were screeching so horribly and jumping and thrashing around so fast and freakishly that it looked like they were getting electrocuted, but they weren't, it's just how they were being. And I'm guessing that the reason is that they're the most intelligent of them all and really comprehending the horrors that were happening. And they showed sheep and cows too, who weren't far behind in their reactions. I felt so queasy and sick in my stomach after seeing this, this really did frighten me from eating meat

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          • RoseIsabella

            Pigs are very intelligent!

            I think what pisses me off the most are those people in east Asia who slaughter, and eat dogs. It makes me so sick, it's just downright unnatural.

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      • CozmoWank

        They're excel at math, science & creative writing.

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    • I guess my post is making me look a little bit like Lisa Simpson, isn't it, with how I'm worrying about animals' feelings?

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      • BrokenPerson

        Idk I actually agree with your post. There are plenty of people who feel the same way.

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      • RoseIsabella

        Lisa Simpson is alright, she can play a mean saxophone.

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        • McBean

          👍. Mmmmm, do I ever love soprano sax with a piano backup.

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          • RoseIsabella

            In the opening credits Lisa actually appears to be playing a baritone saxophone.

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            • I'm a good piano player myself. I guess I am sort of like Lisa Simpson, I'm sensitive to animals' feelings and I'm good at playing an instrument

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            • McBean

              Yup. She sounds good too.

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      • LloydAsher

        Yep

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  • SwickDinging

    Because not enough people care enough for it to be worth changing. It involves personal sacrifice and people have their own ideas about what they are prepared to sacrifice.

    Making more ethical food choices means producing your own food, paying more for your food or eliminating certain foods altogether, and a lot people don't want to do this.

    I raise quite a bit of food myself, but I'm nowhere near self-sufficient and do still have to buy a lot of stuff. When I do buy food I always pay more to buy the ethically sourced local foods. I appreciate that I am lucky that I am able to afford this. 10 years ago there is no way I would have been able to buy this type of food because I simply didn't have the money. If for some reason we suddenly fell on hard times financially then this expense would probably be the first thing to go - I have young kids and I need to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table. To be fair I would probably choose to simply eliminate meat if I could only afford the cheap stuff, but that's because it's an issue that is close to my heart. You can't really expect everyone to make that same sacrifice, as much as I agree with you that it would be a good thing.

    I'm not sure what the answer is long term. But I do think we're coming to a point now where our environmental problems are so serious that maybe big business will be forced into more ethical, sustainable practices. Let's see what happens

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  • palehorse

    This isn't really an IIN.

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    • I'm asking is it normal to show concern for the animals. I was originally understanding about this site that you can ask "is it normal" about just about any topic there is under the sun. And this is sure a better question than some of them on here, I've seen people ask shit like "is it normal to drink your own semen?" and "is it normal to like licking assholes?", so I really can't see why me asking about the concern of animals going to slaughter would not be acceptable.

      Now that I'm remembering more of the questions I've seen on this site, I guess maybe my topic is just too decent minded and not perverted enough for this site, lol.

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      • BrokenPerson

        It's perfectly normal to care about animals. Empathy is lacking in todays society.

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        • I have alot of empathy towards animals now, my empathy has doubled since seeing the slaughterhouse videos, which I've seen several different times now. I hate those videos so much, but I just needed to know the truth on what's really going on. I just don't know how to pretend it isn't happening

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        • I would agree, but but empathy and more importantly, compassion have always been lacking to a degree.

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      • RoseIsabella

        I support your assertions.

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      • palehorse

        Read your post again. Maybe I'm wrong, but it really doesn't sound like you're genuinely asking "Is it normal to care about animals this much?" If that were the case, the post would have been focused on how you feel, and why you think that your emotions might be obsessive, abnormal, or unhealthy in some way.

        You might say, for example, "I watched a video of animals being abused at a slaughterhouse and I can't stop thinking about it. Whenever I try to sleep I just see it again and it really bothers me. I want to do something about it but I don't know what. INN?" That would be a post that's about you. You are telling us about your behavior or thoughts and asking us if it is normal. (Other possible topics might cover other people, strange phenomenon, or interpersonal relationships, not just the OP). It's not that you're too "decent-minded" for this site - pretentious as that is - it's that your post doesn't seem to be legitimately asking an IIN question at all.

        Rather, your post is geared much more towards the idea of "Meat-eaters are ignoring cruelty towards animals :((((((". Reading your post, it's really not about you or your behavior at all, and the "Is it normal that I feel so concerned about the animals" feels like it was hastily tacked on to the end to make it relevant to this site. I'd go as far as to say that you're really just trying to spread awareness about a perceived problem, not asking an IIN question in all honesty. If so, good for you, but this isn't the place to do it. With all due respect, please take your activism and your attitude somewhere else.

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        • I read it again, I guess it does sound like I'm trying to get people in general to turn against slaughtering animals.

          I see your point, and I am sometimes not best at how to word things down on paper. I should have just said "it bothers me that animals are slaughtered, are my thoughts normal"?, instead of the way I went on about how people in general are getting away with slaughtering and violating the Humane slaughter act, etc., etc. and how I think how other people don't care about what's happening to animals. I'm not trying to be an activist, but you're right, that is how I made it sound, I didn't know how to word my thoughts against animal slaughtering in the best way. And you're right, I shouldn't have worried so much about how others feel about this or what they're doing or not doing, I should've just kept the topic on my thoughts about it

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          • palehorse

            Thanks. You're at least more articulate than a good 95% of the posters here.

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  • hauntedbeing

    A lot of those videos showing inhumane acts are edited footage taken out of context or people paid to do them for the video. In general, meat from animals that suffer tends to taste nasty compared to meat from animals that didn't. Meat tasting nasty is the last thing the industry wants if they wanna keep making money.

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    • I've been getting the impression that many normal slaughterhouses are like that, that's what the videos say. And I've believed them. I am kind of gullible though. I am so concerned about these animals that I watch videos to see how they are really getting treated. I wish I had the power to stop all animal cruelty, but I know I don't

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  • I hated those slaughterhouse videos, I didn't want to see them, but I just have to know the truth on what's really happening to so many innocent animals. The videos made me feel sickened, but they also caused me to feel a new level of sympathy and empathy for the animals. They just never did anything to deserve this. I felt really sickened by the pigs' reactions, they seemed the most terrified, their non-stop piercing screeching and thrashing around, and I think that's because they're the most intelligent, and they really knew what was going on. The lambs made me feel the most heartbroken, they're not even grown up yet, and lambs are the most simple, playful, peaceful little animals

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  • Most of your complaints here seem to be centered around minimizing their suffering while being slaughtered.

    However, imo, their treatment while being raised up to death is much, much worse, and ofc more drawn out.

    Not to say humane slaughter isn't important, but even a sloppy death would be a merciful release from some of the conditions these animals live under for months or years.

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  • I did not think that PETA themselves kill animals. That makes what they're saying a complete lie. Damn, I'm gullible.

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  • Indigo1

    humane = having or showing compassion or benevolence , there is no humane way to kill an animal that wants to live. we shouldn't kill any animals unless it's a necessity, and for most of us it is not necessity. vote with your dollars against animal cruelty by buying products that don't exploit animals.

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    • It's still worse to allow animals to suffer, and it's even worse yet the places where they seem to torture them deliberately. At least at the humane places, they stun the animals unconscious before they do anything to them. But the best option yet is to not kill the animals at all

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  • palehorse

    "I read it again, I guess it does sound like I'm trying to get people in general to turn against slaughtering animals." - quote from OP

    OP's true intentions may never be known, but even OP has admitted that that's what it sounded like.

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    • My true intentions were to share my concern about what animals go through because I hate that animals suffer. My repronse to you was because I realized that I was becoming too preachy about it and in spite of how I feel, I don't want to seem like I'm all out telling people what to do. Expressing my concerns about an issue and how others feel and act on it is different from telling people what to do and being downright preachy. And I guess I realized that I was leaning a little too far into the latter when responding before

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      • palehorse

        "My true intentions were to share my concern about what animals go through because I hate that animals suffer."

        And this is a site for asking whether or not something is normal, not trying to further - as much as I hate this word - an agenda. This really isn't the right place to put this. Sorry about the other users spamming "Bacon" or whatever - although you can't really blame them.

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      • palehorse

        "My true intentions were to share my concern about what animals go through because I hate that animals suffer."

        And this is a site for asking whether or not something is normal, not trying to further - as much as I hate this word - an agenda. This really isn't the right place to put this. Sorry about the other users spamming "Bacon" or whatever - although you can't really blame them.

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  • palehorse

    I think I'm missing something here. What are you trying to tell me?

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  • Vvaas

    did the videos you watch from some vegan organization? because 99% of the time "torture" videos made by vegans are either recorded in third world countries with poor regulations and the vegans play it off as a video from a first world country to make more shock value, or it's somehow staged.

    no matter though there's always going to be mistakes, accidents, etc. in the workplace. i'm sure a lot of animals are processed accidentally when they are not properly stunned and are killed painfully, but worldwide there is no industry or business that is going to get the job done 100% correctly, because there will always be mistakes. humans are not robots and will never be 100% accurate.

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    • Actually, the horrible videos were put up by PETA, which they're trying to expose the truth in order to put a stop to it. Their videos really sickened me. But, I hope you're right that what they showed was really just the minority of places. PETA was saying that a high percentage of slaughterhouses in America, Australia, and Western European countries like Belgium are like the ones in the videos. These videos are the reason why I've developed such a heartbreaking sympathy for farm animals now

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      • Vvaas

        oh god PETA, they're actually a horrible organization who kill thousands of dogs/cats in their care yearly for no reason at all, there's been cases of them picking up stray dogs and putting them down the very next day and even stealing people's pets, do not trust anything from them.

        When watching these videos always question and look for reliable evidence, a lot of these "torture" videos made by vegans are often either staged or they take a video from a third world country and claim it as coming from a first world country.

        America, Australia, UK, etc. all have strict regulations in place as well as first world equipment to put down animals in the slaughterhouse as quickly and painlessly as possible, if someones going around torturing an animal in a slaughterhouse or cutting their throat while still alive and letting them bleed out that video is most likely from some poor country that doesn't have the proper equipment to put down livestock animals as easily and painlessly; don't believe every video you watch.

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        • I thought PETA was an organization to help put a stop to animal cruelty, that's what they keep saying their aim is. I thought their reasons for showing those videos was to scare people from eating meat so that more people would become vegetarian and therefore fewer animals will be slaughtered, meaning the amount of animals suffering reduces. The videos have already worked on scaring me. But, part of what scared me was that I did believe that many slaughterhouses are like the ones they showed.

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  • McBean

    I love meat, but I also empathize with your concern. Hunters should hold their fire until they are sure they can score a quick kill shot. Similarly, farm animals deserve the courtesy of an unconscious death.

    BTW, I minimize consumption of ham, pork, and bacon because pigs have their eyes forward facing like predators. Research and Development needs to be done to grow muscle (meat fiber) in test tubes. This way synthetic meat can be engineered to taste even better than dead animals.

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    • I agree that hunters shouldn't shoot animals unless they're shooting them in a way that they die instantly. That's why slaughterhouse animals must be stunned unconscious so they endure zero suffering from getting their throats slit. But, those videos PETA showed made me feel that animals are often not being stunned unconscious and are suffering horribly for several minutes. I've heard and seen that when an animal's throat is slit and bleed out, it takes about 5 to 10 minutes for the animal to die, and in those horrible videos, that was enough time to where the animals were still kicking and moving well down the assembly line and were still aware when getting skinned and their hooves cut off. That's what really made me feel sick.

      But I don't know for sure, because I saw them completely cut sheep's heads off but they were still kicking. I thought that consciousness and awareness would be gone within a few seconds after getting decapitated. Which that has brought me to believe or at least hope that maybe the kicking is just pure muscle reflex from getting their blood drained, but no consciousness. But, the PETA videos were saying how the kicking meant that they were still aware. It's just sickening to me. All I've been wishing to find out is that the animals are not aware and don't suffer

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      • McBean

        People go into denial very quickly with this topic. It takes a few minutes for brain death after losing blood, and to speed production, the company probably shortened the assembly line. People need to remember that death isn't instant.

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        • I already knew that. That's what I was saying before on why the animals kick and squirm for several minutes after getting their throats slit.

          That's why the stunners need to work for a minimum of around 10 to 15 minutes, and the throats must be slit within a few seconds after stunning, so they must make sure the animals will die before the stunning wears off.

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          • McBean

            Exactly, with the carotid artery severed so there is zero blood pressure to the brain.

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            • I preferably wish that the animals weren't getting slaughtered at all, but since I can't hide from the fact that that's an unrealistic wish, I just wish that the slaughterhouse workers are stunning them 100℅ unconscious for long enough so that they die from the slaughter before even beginning to show the slightest bit of consciousness

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  • Boojum

    I can understand your concerns.

    I'm not a dedicated carnivore and I'd be quite happy not eating meat at all (as I have in the past), but my wife and daughter like meat, so I go along with it for the sake of domestic harmony. We're in the fortunate position that we can afford to pay more for organic meat, and we do that mainly because of animal welfare. Personally, I am fine with eating animals and animal products if I can believe that the animals were treated with respect during their lives and their deaths were sudden and as painless as possible.

    If you're really interested in this topic, you might find the below article about the evolution of the beef industry in the USA interesting. Its main focus is on the workers in the industry, but it also talks about how cattle were treated. It's not much consolation to the animals who are slaughtered today that they're treated much better in some ways than their ancestors were, but I guess it's something.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/07/the-price-of-plenty-how-beef-changed-america

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    • Yes, these videos have given me a much higher level of sympathy for the animals. Alot of people say that cows, sheep, and pigs are just dumb useless animals that are only good for food for us.

      But how I see it, first of all, they're not as dumb as some people think. Second, being dumb doesn't make someone useless and doesn't make them ok to be killed and eaten. What about people who don't have high intelligence levels? What about someone with down syndrome or something? By the arguing people's logic, then they're also useless and of no use to us but meat. If a cow or a lamb is moving, running, eating, or doing basically anything, than they are aware and experiencing life, it does not matter if they're not smart by human standards, they are aware and experiencing, and therefore have feelings, and they have every right to keep them and not be killed. That's just how I see it.

      I could try to explain this to the.people saying that they don't care about the animals and that they're only here to be meat, but I won't because it won't change their minds

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  • Doesnormalmatter

    Because people are hungry and don't give a fuck about animals. I don't really blame them either, its a business.

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    • LloydAsher

      It's nothing personal. Just buisness.

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      • Doesnormalmatter

        Yeah, I have always wondered why people care about animals so much. I ain't tryna hate on them, but It makes no sense to me.

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        • Indigo1

          would you care if someone was beating up a dog in front of you?

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          • Doesnormalmatter

            Absolutely! Unless we planned to eat it later, which they do in some places but it sounds gross. Killing or abusing animals just for fun is different than for our use as food. Animal abuse is still a thing, but we don't need to go out of our way to make sure pigs get a perfectly painless death before we kill them and eat them for breakfast.

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            • People sure need to try as hard as possible to make the pigs' deaths as painless as possible

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        • RoseIsabella

          ... because lots of animals, particularly domestic ones, are much nicer than many people. I can only think of two people who I love more than my animal companion. I think your point of view, and mine as well, are also somewhat cultural. My point of view is additionally a result of probably near zero bad experiences with animals on my part. I just have never been able to understand the idea of automatically putting people, especially random people, before companion animals like dogs, or cats. I can't understand it, and I don't want to understand it either.

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          • Doesnormalmatter

            That is what people will say, and good for them. But this close connection to animals is something I have never felt. Also it is a different conversation when we are talking about animals that are intentionally domesticated to serve as companions, verses which way we kill pigs to eat for breakfast. I understand the concern if the pet serves as a human companion, but I don't get why people care how nice we are to the pigs we kill to eat.

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            • RoseIsabella

              I think people like OP, and myself care, because those pigs don't deserve to suffer.

              What's sad to me is the fact that the death penalty is administered to convicted criminals in a way that they experience virtually no suffering from their executions. These are evil people who have caused so much suffering to their victims, and their victims families, enjoythe luxury of punishment that is practically painless. The the livestock that is slaughtered for meat consumption on the other hand have committed no offense other than to be born as animals that we consider food. Those animals don't deserve to suffer, but the people who are put to death do deserve to suffer. I see this as a grave injustice.

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        • I know you're not trying to hate. I see it makes sense to care because animals are alive, and if you're alive, you are aware and experiencing, it doesn't matter if you're unintelligent and don't have the capacity to learn to speak languages and have human level intelligence, you're still alive and aware enough to experience the world around you and have feelings. But I'm not going to tell you how to feel, that's your choice. I just put this post up to state the way I feel, caring about animals' feelings, and to ask if that is normal

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          • RoseIsabella

            I don't think I will ever become a vegetarian, or a vegan, but I really appreciate your post, and wholeheartedly support your point of view.

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  • raisinbran

    pain ≠ bad

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    • You've outdone yourself this time, raisinbran.

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