From: bettyderob@libero.it
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 2:54 PM
To: FDADockets@oc.fda.gov; owen_br@leg.wa.gov
Subject: CUT OUT THE MARKET FOR DOWNED ANIMALS

Dear Lieutenant Governor Owen,

Last February many concerned citizens requested that workers at IBP -
Wallula 
Slaughterhouse be prosecuted to the fullest extent permissible under 
Washington’s animal cruelty laws. Graphic evidence from The Washington 
Post 
and the Humane Farming Association clearly portrayed IBP’s reckless 
mistreatment of animals. Yet prosecuting attorney Jim Nagle regards 
vivid 
footage and employee affidavits as “insufficient evidence” to convict 
IBP 
with criminal charges. 

Litigators have chosen to ignore Washington’s anti-cruelty statutes, 
despite 
IBP employee testimonies that describe stun operators who routinely 
fail to 
render cattle unconscious. One videotape documents a conscious cow with 
an 
electric prod shoved into her mouth. Workers admit to frequently 
dismembering 
and skinning kicking and screaming animals. 

Frustrated IBP workers, afraid of losing jobs, savagely mishandle 
animals to 
keep the breakneck production line flowing. Last Spring, eyewitnesses 
described cows who feel the “belly ripper” slice through their stomachs 
or 
the “tail ripper” slash open their rectums. Some cows are still alert 
when 
the “first legger” flays their hind legs and severs their feet. Still 
others 
are cognizant as the “first butter” skins them from breast to 
belly. “Their 
eyes look like they are popping out,” one worker said, “I feel bad that 
I 
have to do my job on them.” Pigs who similarly survive the stunning 
process 
wind up in tanks of boiling water, squealing in agony until they drown.

These descriptive accounts have been silenced by a corrupt system. One 
IBP 
worker was allegedly pressured into signing a deposition denying he had 
seen 
live animals on the killing line. When Washington state authorities 
arrived 
at IBP for an unannounced inspection, they were detained for one hour. 
Once 
inside, they found no visible proof of cruelty.

One can only imagine the terror and pain these animals endure. I 
encourage 
you to replace prosecuting attorney Jim Nagle with a litigator who is 
able to 
objectively view evidence and not succumb to bribery or pressure. 

At the very least, implement the Humane Slaughter Act. I am outraged at 
Washington State’s injustice.  “I can tell these cows are alive,” one 
IBP 
worker stated, “because they’re holding their heads up and a lot of 
times 
they make noise.” There is no excuse. I look forward to your feedback 
on the 
future of this serious case. 


Sincerely,Elisabetta De Robbio Via Cagni 26 35138 Padova