slaughter laws, death comes quickly and painlessly. The
animalsaresupposedtobestunned byelectric currentora
captive-boltpistolandhavetheirthroatscutwhiletheyare
stillunconscious. Theymayfeel terrorshortlybefore their
death,whenbeinggoadeduptheramptoslaughter,smelling
thebloodofthosewhohavegonebefore;butthemomentof
deathitselfcan,intheory,beentirelypainless.Unfortunately,
there is often a gap between theory and practice. A
WashingtonPostreporterrecentlydescribedaslaughterhouse
inVirginiaoperated bySmithfield,thelargestmeatpacking
concern on the United States East Coast:
Theporkprocessendsinahighlyautomatedstate-of-the-art
factory where neatly packaged airtight plastic packets of
slicedbaconandhamrollofftheconveyorbelt.Butitbegins
outsidebehindtheplant,inastinking,muddy,bloodstained
pig pen. Inside the Gwaltneyof Smithfield slaughterhouse
visitorsareallowedonlyafewminutes’staylestthestenchof
deadpigsclingtotheirclothesandbodieslongafterthevisit
has ended.
The processbegins whenthe squealing hogsare corralled
fromtheirpensupawoodenplankwhereaworkerstunstheir
headswithanelectricshock.Astheyfallfromtheshock,a
workerquickly hangsthepigsupside-down ona conveyor
belt, placing their rear legs in a metal clamp.
Sometimes thestunned hogsfallofftheconveyorbeltand
regainconsciousness,andworkershavetoscrambletohoist
thehogs’legsbackintothemetalclampsbeforetheybegin
runningwildlythroughtheconfinedarea.Thehogsactually
arekilledbyaworkerwhostabsthestunnedandoftenstill-
squirminganimalswithaknifeinthejugularveinandlets
mostoftheblooddrainout.Thefreshlybutcheredpigsthen