Filename:
WAM17395
Headline:
Cows walk single file through the narrow access chute from the loading dock to the slaughterhouse. Chile, 2012. Gabriela Penela / We Animals
Description:
This imagery was captured as part of Mataderos, a 2012 film project by the Chilean organization EligeVeganismo which investigated and documented cattle slaughterhouses in Chile.
In Chile, dairy cows form the greatest percentage of all cattle slaughtered since dairy cows are considered by the industry to have a “dual-purpose”: They can be used for their milk, then subsequently be sent to slaughter for their meat. Depending on the care a cow receives, her natural life span is usually 20 to 25 years, however, a dairy cow is usually sent to slaughter at approximately five years of age when the production and quality of her milk start to decline. In some cases, dairy cows arrive at the slaughterhouse pregnant, but because their unborn calves are less valuable to a farmer than a productive dairy cow, neither she nor her unborn calf is spared.
Cattle in Chilean slaughterhouses are usually killed by first stunning them with a captive bolt pistol, intended to render the animals unconscious, and subsequently workers slit their throats, leaving the animals to bleed out and die. Alternatively, some slaughterhouses attach electrodes to the cows, utilizing electrocution to induce the stunned state.
After the Mataderos documentary was aired on public television, complaints were made about the animal abuse happening inside one of the slaughterhouses shown in these photographs, leading to the temporary closure of the facility. The documentary had captured and revealed a worker in the slaughterhouse cutting the legs off a cow while she was still alive.
Area of Focus:
Food Systems,Farmed Animals
Supplemental categories:
Slaughter, Food Systems
Country:
Chile
Photographer/Filmmaker:
Gabriela Penela
Credit:
Gabriela Penela / We Animals
Year:
2012
License Type(s):
Non-Commercial Use, Commercial Use
WA Keywords:
Scientific name:
Bos taurus
Size:
5184px X 3456px
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