Editing Slaughterhouse (section)

==Animal welfare concerns==
{{Further|Animal slaughter|Animal welfare|Cruelty to animals}}

In 1997, Gail Eisnitz, chief investigator for the Humane Farming Association (HFA),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hfa.org/|title=HFA – The Humane Farming Association|website=www.hfa.org |access-date=8 January 2019}}</ref> released the book ''Slaughterhouse''. It includes interviews of slaughterhouse workers in the U.S. who say that, because of the speed with which they are required to work, animals are routinely skinned while apparently alive and still blinking, kicking and shrieking. Eisnitz argues that this is not only cruel to the animals but also dangerous for the human workers, as cows weighing several thousands of pounds thrashing around in pain are likely to kick out and debilitate anyone working near them.<ref>Eisnitz, Gail A. ''Slaughterhouse''. Prometheus Books, 1997, cited in Torres, Bob. ''Making a Killing''. AK Press, 2007, p. 46.</ref>

This would imply that certain slaughterhouses throughout the country are not following the guidelines and regulations spelled out by the ''[[Humane Slaughter Act]]'', requiring all animals to be put down by some form, typically electronarcosis, and thus insusceptible to pain before being subjected to any form of violent action.

According to the HFA, Eiznitz interviewed slaughterhouse workers representing over two million hours of experience, who, without exception, told her that they have beaten, strangled, boiled and dismembered animals alive or have failed to report those who do. The workers described the effects the violence has had on their personal lives, with several admitting to being physically abusive or taking to alcohol and other drugs.<ref name="HFA">[https://hfa.org/hot_topic/slaughterhouse.html "HFA Exposé Uncovers Federal Crimes"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519182758/http://www.hfa.org/hot_topic/slaughterhouse.html |date=2009-05-19 }}, Humane Farming Association. Retrieved March 8, 2008.</ref>

The HFA alleges that workers are required to kill up to 1,100 hogs an hour and end up taking their frustration out on the animals.<ref name="HFA"/> Eisnitz interviewed one worker, who had worked in ten slaughterhouses, about pig production. He told her:

{{quote|sign=|source=|Hogs get stressed out pretty easy. If you prod them too much, they have heart attacks. If you get a hog in the chute that's had the shit prodded out of him and has a heart attack or refuses to move, you take a [[meat hook]] and hook it into his [[anus|bunghole]]. You try to do this by clipping the [[hipbone]]. Then you drag him backwards. You're dragging these hogs alive, and a lot of times the meat hook rips out of the bunghole. I've seen hams – thighs – completely ripped open. I've also seen intestines come out. If the hog collapses near the front of the chute, you shove the meat hook into his cheek and drag him forward.<ref>Eisnitz, p. 82, cites in Torres, Bob. ''Making a Killing''. AK Press, 2007, p. 47.</ref>}}

[[Animal rights movement|Animal rights activists]], [[Anti-speciesism|anti-speciesists]], [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]] and [[Veganism|vegans]] are prominent critics of slaughterhouses and have created events such as the [[march to close all slaughterhouses]] to voice concerns about the conditions in slaughterhouses and ask for their abolition. Some have argued that humane animal slaughter is impossible.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.3390/ani10050799|doi-access=free|title=Is Humane Slaughter Possible?|year=2020|last1=Browning|first1=Heather|last2=Veit|first2=Walter|journal=Animals|volume=10|issue=5|page=799|pmid=32380765|pmc=7278393}}</ref>