Personal Injury Law

Small Fish Charged in Chino Slaughterhouse Cruelty

Meet Michael A. Ramos,  San Bernardino County District Attorney.  He has just filed criminal charges in the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company's mistreatment of downer cows.

We are not, at least at this point, going to see Westland/Hallmark President Steve Mendell being taken away in handcuffs.   No, neither Mendell or any other Westland/Hallmark corporate officials being "frog-marched" passed the media.

No, but according to the Los Angeles Times "Daniel Ugarte Navarro of Pomona faces up to eight years and eight months in prison if convicted of five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal. Navarro, who was a head pen manager at Hallmark Meat Packing, was fired last month after the release of the video by the Humane Society of the United States.

A pen manager?  The LA Times also reports "authorities today also filed three misdemeanor counts against 32-year-old Luis Sanchez of Chino, who worked directly under Navarro and was also fired last month. Sanchez faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

We guess Sanchez was trying to work his way up to "pen manager."   He was probably the other guy fired immediately by Westland/Hallmark after the Humane Society went public with its video tape.

"Downer" cows, which are many more times more likely to spread Mad Cow disease,were being routinely mistreated at the Westland/Hallmark Chino slaughterhouse.  Are we to believe that responsibility for these practices stop with a "pen manager" and his trusty companion?

Schools nationwide have been forced to pull beef from their menus and leave it stacked in their freezers until this mess is cleaned up.  On one hand, we have to give D.A. Ramos credit for filing at least some criminal charges in this matter.   However, one has to wonder where is the U.S. Justice Department?

Or how about Homeland Security?   What's more important than protecting the security of the food supply going into every school lunch program in the country.   

Maybe if the feds would put their considerable resources to work they could find away to charge someone higher up than a "pen manager."  D.A. Ramos says "We want to send the message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated."

That message Mr. Ramos would be better sent by charging those in charge.

Go here for the whole LA Times story.

Full post as published by Mad Cow Blog on February 15, 2008 (boomark / email).