Lawsuit filed against Colorado State University over deleted videos of cattle at slaughter facility
April 10, 2024
In its latest legal action to demand government transparency, Animal Partisan has filed a lawsuit against Colorado State University over its refusal to provide video recordings taken as part of a research study at a commercial slaughter facility. Animal Partisan is represented in the lawsuit by the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project (AALDP) at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver.
In 2021, a researcher at Colorado State University published a study in the Meat Science Journal entitled “Intraobserver and interobserver reliability of mud scoring systems for use in cattle at slaughter.” The aim of the study—which was apparently funded by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association—was to test the reliability of a “mud scoring system” that assessed the amount of mud on cattle destined for slaughter. According to the study, excessive mud on cattle “negatively impacts performance” due to increased energy requirements and reduced feed intake, and creates slaughter plant “inefficiencies” by requiring more effort to remove mud from the hide. In essence, the study sought to develop a system where slaughter plants could better plan for mud on cattle to make slaughter more efficient.
In July 2023, Animal Partisan requested copies of videos taken as part of the study, which depicted cattle being moved to holding pens at a commercial slaughter facility. The records were requested under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), a law that seeks to provide citizens with transparency about the workings of government. After over a month of ignoring Animal Partisan’s request, Colorado State finally acknowledged the request and advised it would need more time for an official response. Nearly three months later, Colorado State provided a cryptic response, advising “we do not have any documents that can be produced in response to your request.” When pressed by Animal Partisan for a full explanation, Colorado State claimed that the records were exempt from disclosure because they were associated with an ongoing research project, despite the fact that the study had been published two years prior.
After further inquiry by Animal Partisan and AALDP, Colorado State changed its story again. This time, the university claimed the videos had mysteriously been deleted and, even if they were found, they would not be shared because the commercial slaughter facilities would not consent to their release given “the various animal rights activist activities” they have seen. In a subsequent meeting, Colorado State offered its fourth explanation for why the videos would not be released, claiming they were exempted from disclosure under CORA because they dealt with “security arrangements” at the commercial slaughter facility.
Now, following these shifting explanations, Animal Partisan has sued to enforce its rights under CORA. The lawsuit alleges that Colorado State, through its records custodian, obstructed Animal Partisan’s attempts to obtain the records, misrepresented the status of the videos and reasons for denying their release, and potentially deleted the records to prevent them from being obtained and shared with the public. The lawsuit, filed in the District Court for Larimer County, Colorado, asks the court to find that Colorado State violated CORA, order the university to retrieve the videos, order discovery to determine when records were destroyed if they cannot be retrieved, and reimburse attorneys fees and costs.
The case represents Animal Partisan’s second partnership with AALDP. Earlier this year, Animal Partisan filed a criminal complaint against Colorado Lamb Processors alleging animal cruelty over the botched stunning of a lamb at slaughter. AALDP represents Animal Partisan and Animal Equality in that case. AALDP is the only offering at any U.S. law school that provides legal advice and representation to animal activists. AALDP seeks to advance several vital but contested rights: the right to speak freely about the well-being of non-human animals; the right to document instances of animal cruelty; the right to rescue dying animals; and the right to determine the proper guardianship of helpless creatures.
The lawsuit against Colorado State shines a light on the often-overlooked ties between academic institutions and the animal agriculture industry. Notably, a recent study examining this relationship concluded that “the animal agriculture industry is now involved in multiple multi-million-dollar efforts with universities to obstruct unfavorable policies as well as influence climate change policy and discourse.” Others have noted that through funding research, “the meat and dairy industry have become increasingly involved in influencing the science that informs what people should eat in order to better market their products.”
Open records laws such as CORA exist so that citizens can better participate in a democracy with an understanding of what their government is doing. Colorado State is prioritizing corporate meat industry interests over the right of private citizens to know what the government is up to, and Animal Partisan’s lawsuit is an important step to check this abuse of power.
Read a copy of the complaint HERE.
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