UPDATE 3/5: Veterinarian blows whistle on USDA regarding slaughterhouse violations

USA Today is reporting that Dean Wyatt, a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service supervisory veterinarian, will testify at a congressional hearing that Department of Agriculture officials “failed to act on reports of illegal and unsafe slaughterhouse practices, letting suspect operations continue despite public health risks.”

Wyatt will detail his experiences of being overruled and threatened with demotion when reporting slaughterhouse violations including the slaughtering of downer calves (animals that are sick or injured) and a plant that was “butchering conscious pigs, despite rules that they first be stunned and unconscious.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hear Wyatt’s testimony today, with Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, serving as the hearing’s chairperson.

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