UPDATE: Second animal suffers botched killing at Alaska slaughterhouse as District Attorney refuses to act

CURRENT STATUS: (Active) District Attorney declined to prosecute first incident and a second incident has since occurred. Animal Partisan has renewed its request for criminal prosecution and is exploring other legal remedies.

October 13, 2023

In May 2023, Animal Partisan filed a criminal complaint with the Palmer, Alaska District Attorney over the botched killing of a bull yak at Alaska Meat Packers. During that event, workers fired a .38 caliber pistol into the animal’s head 15 separate occasions before the animal died. District Attorney Melissa Wininger-Howard refused to act on Animal Partisan’s complaint and ignored repeated calls and emails requesting an explanation. Now, Alaska Meat Packers has botched a second slaughter, causing untold suffering to a cow being killed at the plant.

On September 25, 2023, the USDA reported that Alaska Meat Packers attempted to stun the cow with a handheld captive bolt, a device that propels a metal object into the skull of the animal, but failed. The cow dropped to her knees, still conscious. As the injured and dazed cow attempted to regain her footing, Alaska Meat Packer workers fired the bolt four more times into her skull yet she remained conscious. Finally, on the sixth attempt, the animal was rendered unconscious. The USDA cited Alaska Meat Packers for violating federal law dealing with the welfare of animals at slaughter.

The District Attorney’s inaction contributed to another animal suffering at Alaska Meat Packers. Animal Partisan has renewed its request to District Attorney Wininger-Howard to pursue criminal animal cruelty charges against the establishment. Members of the public may contact her office at (907) 761-5648 or lawpalmerdao@alaska.gov to ask her directly why she believes animals slaughtered for food are not worthy of protection under the state’s cruelty law. Animal Partisan is continuing to seek legal remedies for Alaska Meat Packers unlawful conduct.

May 19, 2023

In Palmer, Alaska, less than an hour northeast of Anchorage, exists one of only a handful of federally-inspected slaughterhouses in the state. Alaska Meat Packers was founded in 2021 to wide praise and acclaim from state officials, including the Governor of Alaska.

But a recent report from a United States Department of Agriculture inspector depicts a horrific scene of abuse and now Animal Partisan has filed a complaint to state and local law enforcement agencies seeking criminal penalties. In June 2022, a USDA inspector witnessed an Alaska Meat Packers employee attempting to slaughter a bull yak. While slaughtered far less frequently than cattle, pigs, chickens, and other commonly consumed animals, a number of slaughterhouses across the country slaughter animals the USDA labels as “exotic”, including yaks, reindeer, elk, antelope, bison, and others.

As documented by the USDA, the Alaska Meat Packers employee attempted to kill the yak by firing into the animal’s head with a .38 caliber pistol. When the yak remained standing, the employee fired at the yak’s head again and again and again. All told, the USDA inspector reported approximately 15 pistol shots discharged into the yak. What’s more shocking is that these shots occurred over an excruciating period of 25 minutes during which time the yak remained standing, blinking his eyes, tossing his head, and suffering.

Yaks are intelligent and highly social animals who live in herds. Mothers are extremely protective of their young. Their thick coats allow them to sustain bitter cold and their sure feet allow them to traverse rocky inclines. They are known to be capable swimmers and can swim across rapids and through frozen rivers. Regrettably, humans have domesticated the yak and begun exploiting these animals for meat, hides, and milk. Although there were only approximately 600 yaks in North American 30 years ago, there are now estimated to be over 5,000.

Animal Partisan’s complaint, filed under a provision of state law that allows private complaints for animal cruelty, alleges that this conduct violates Alaska law. The complaint, directed at the Alaska State Police, the Palmer Police Department, and the District Attorney, seeks criminal charges against the slaughterhouse itself and the employee who performed the botched slaughter. Alaska law contains steep penalties for businesses and other organizations engaged in criminal conduct, in some cases monetary penalties up to a million dollars.

View a copy of the complaint HERE.

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