Cruelty complaint filed against Virginia slaughterhouse for shooting pig four times in head

CURRENT STATUS: (Closed) Magistrate declined charges; appeal to Supervisory Magistrate also denied

November 16, 2022

Animal Partisan has asked a Virginia Magistrate to issue a warrant for animal cruelty against a slaughterhouse, its plant manager, and employee. The complaint stems from an October 7, 2022 incident in which a United States Department of Agriculture inspector assigned to the ironically named “Gentle Harvest Custom Processing,” a Winchester slaughterhouse, witnessed a plant employee shoot a pig—potentially a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig—four times in the head.

According to the inspector, the employee shot the pig twice with a .22 magnum rifle. The pig remained conscious after being shot twice and vocalized in distressed. A plant manager then brought the employee a .410 shotgun and the employee fired again but the pig remained conscious and vocalized again in distress. Finally, the employee fired a fourth time and rendered the pig unconscious, only after an excruciating period of suffering. The USDA subsequently suspended inspections at the plant, but later rescinded the suspension after the plant agreed to certain “corrective actions.”

Animal Partisan’s complaint argues that the slaughterhouse itself and the plant manager, are liable for cruelty based on improper oversight, faulty equipment, and poor training protocol. Virginia law allows private citizens, including organizations like Animal Partisan, to seek criminal charges directly from a magistrate. The complaint alleges that Gentle Harvest Custom Processing’s botched slaughter caused “unnecessary suffering” to the helpless pig. Animals being slaughtered for food in federally-inspected establishments are not exempt from protection by state animal cruelty laws and the complaint seeks to hold the company accountable.

View a copy of the complaint HERE.

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