Slaughterhouse workers at a California meat-packing plant were forced by their boss to butcher sick cows, it was reported Saturday.
If the workers refused a supervisor's order, they would get fired, an ex-employee said in an interview.
"You feel bad, but this is your job," said Rafael Sanchez Herrera, in a jailhouse interview conducted by the local newspaper Press-Enterprise. "They give you orders and you have to do it," he said.
Herrera, an illegal immigrant, said he and his coworkers mistreated animals and butchered cattle that were unfit for human consumption at the threat of losing his 380-dollar per week job. "I was just doing what they told me," Herrera said.
The Mexican citizen said he also did not understand why charges have been filed against him but none of the coworkers and supervisors instructed him on how to handle so-called "downer" cattle.
Herrera awaits trial on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and an outstanding drug charge.
Undercover video shot by a Humane Society agent showed sick cattle being abused by workers in the Hallmark/Wesland Meat Packing Co. in Chino, California.
Use of the sick cows uncovered by the tapes prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to order the largest beef recall in history late last month. The recall involved about 143 million pounds of beef from the Chino meat packing company.
The USDA forbids the use of such "downer" cows for food -- primarily because it could be more likely to cause illness, including mad cow disease. No illnesses have been reported.
Source:Xinhua
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