PETA sent a letter to Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub calling on him to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against the workers at Kingdom Provisions responsible for a steer’s prolonged, agonizing death at the Pipersville slaughterhouse on October 19.

As revealed in a just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report, the steer was shot twice in the head but remained conscious and crying out. A federal inspector even witnessed the steer stand up—but workers still shackled him, hoisted him into the air, and cut his throat, causing him to bleed to death.

“This steer spent his last moments in terror and agony as slaughterhouse workers repeatedly shot him, dangled him upside down, and slit his throat,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on his behalf and urging everyone to help prevent all slaughterhouse violence by going vegan.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—points out that cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just as humans do. The group is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Weintraub follows.

November 13, 2023

The Honorable Matthew D. Weintraub

Bucks County District Attorney

Dear Mr. Weintraub:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’d like to request that your office (and the proper local law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against the Kingdom Provisions LLC workers responsible for shooting a steer twice and then hoisting the conscious, crying animal and cutting his throat on October 19 at its slaughterhouse located at 5960 Durham Rd. outside Pipersville. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:

The [FSIS] inspector heard two shots and then looked around the side of the wall to observe. He observed the steer … actively vocalizing. The establishment employee shackled the steer’s right rear leg. The steer righted [himself] and stood on 2–3 legs. … An establishment employee quickly continued hoisting the conscious animal and a separate establishment employee slit the throat and the animal bled out. The steer was actively vocalizing throughout the incident prior to being cut.

This conduct appears to violate Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 18 § 5533. Importantly, FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and doesn’t preempt criminal liability under state law for slaughterhouse workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals. Given that FSIS hasn’t initiated a criminal prosecution of a licensed slaughterhouse for inhumane handling since at least 2007, charges under state law are this victim’s only chance at a measure of justice.

Thank you for your consideration and for the difficult work that you do.

Sincerely,

Colin Henstock

Investigations Project Manager