PETA AU Global Issue 4 2020

Slaughterhouse Veterinarian: Inside Every Pig There’s a Someone Lina Gustafsson: © Viktor Gårdsäter • Pig: © Anita Krajnc | Toronto Pig Save

VICTORY! Horse Dopers Pay Up in First-of-Its-Kind Lawsuit

R evealing the dirty little secrets of a slaughterhouse could’ve been the kiss of death for Swedish veterinarian Lina Gustafsson’s career. But, as she tells PETA UK in an exclusive interview, after working for four months as a slaughterhouse veterinarian, she felt compelled to dispute the meat industry’s “humane” claims and reveal the raw deal animals really get in a new diss - and-tell book, Report From a Slaughterhouse . When I was 6 or 7, I got a rabbit who became my best friend. The affection between us didn’t diminish in any way because he was a rabbit and not a human. I felt

a strong loyalty to animals through my relationship with him. This motivated me to do as much as I could to change their situation. When I was 11, I realised that meat had the same background as my rabbit – it came from the body of a living animal. But my first attempt at being a vegetarian didn’t last long. At aMcDonald’s, I saw a brochure advertising their environmental initiative to remove all the paper around their straws. And I saw that the straws displayed … had paper around them! So I wrote toMcDonald’s and said, “You are lying about the paper!” In return, I got a voucher for a BigMac. So there I was eating this burger, and my

dad said, “Aren’t you a vegetarian now?” Then I really committed and went vegetarian. And I went vegan at 14.

[While working at the slaughterhouse], it became impossible not to notice that inside each pig there is someone who is thinking and feeling. What we do to animals is forced. They don’t want to be transported, kept together on cramped surfaces, or go into the carbon dioxide container, and they don’t want to die. Pigs are very perceptive animals. It’s an unknown place, where many scared animals have walked before, and it’s clear that it’s a fearful moment for them. Animals were prodded too harshly and beaten excessively. Pavement was often too wet, and the pigs were in water. It was winter and they were freezing. The biggest suffering happens within the realm of what is legal. And in that case, [vets] don’t have the power to do anything. [Sweden has] an animal welfare law that promises more than it puts into action. And things are allowed that go against these regulations. One good example is that pigs are killed by carbon dioxide, which is extremely painful and anguish-inducing. Laws and regulations are no guarantee that animals are treated well or live a good life. But having these laws in place is a great marketing argument to get people to buy Swedish meat. I hope we can find a way to live with animals that does not involve us dominating them. I hope we realise that we are just one species among others, not the masters of the planet.

Drugging horses is a losing bet: That’s the message that a successful PETA-backed lawsuit has sent to shady trainers in the horse racing industry. When bettor Jeff Tretter lost money on a race because the “winner,” Tag Up and Go, had been doped with an illegal substance, he seized the opportunity - with PETA’s legal support - to break new ground in holding Tag Up and Go’s cheating trainer and owner to account. The novel lawsuit, alleging that the horse’s trainer and owner had violated state and federal racketeering laws and engaged in fraud, resulted in a $20,000 settlement for Tretter. And because the ultimate victim is the horse, Tretter donated $7,500 to a program to rescue and rehabilitate horses used in the racing industry before placing them in permanent homes. The real victory, however, is the warning that this case represents. Now, other bettors can sue if horses are illegally drugged in the races that they bet on. This will give cheating trainers pause and pressure the industry to take action against doping. Stopping a Worldwide Disgrace The lawsuit is part of PETA’s global effort to help horses. In South Korea, PETA’s video exposé – showing terrified horses being slaughtered right in front of each other – resulted in prosecution, conviction, and fines for the country’s largest horse slaughterhouse and two of its employees for illegal killing methods. Take Action Now US residents, please visit PETA.org/IntegrityAct to urge your members of Congress to support the Horse Racing Integrity Act, which would help rid the industry of drugs and reduce the number of horse breakdowns and deaths.

A doomed pig looks out of a transport truck entering slaughterhouse gates.

Dr. Lina Gustafsson: “It’s an unknown place, where many scared animals have walked before, and it’s clear that it’s a fearful moment for them.”

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Take Action Now Don’t get hosed by humane washing. There’s no kind way to slaughter an animal. Go to

PETA.org.au/VSK for a free vegan starter kit. And seek out people who still eat meat and give them their first taste of vegan foods.

Global 21

20 CHERISHED, NOT CHOPS