Kosher Slaughterhouse Praised for Improvements

JTA

An expert in slaughtering practices says a U.S. kosher slaughterhouse under fire for its procedures has “made a lot of improvements.”
Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, made the comments to JTA on Wednesday after visiting the Agriprocessors plant in Iowa.

Grandin was allowed into the plant recently after more than a year and a half of pressure from PETA, the animal-rights group. She said the plant, whose kosher practices are monitored by the Orthodox Union, has instituted a quality-assurance lab, built a room for processing meat and has improved its handling of animals.

“What we have to do is make sure we keep them that way,” she said.

After PETA produced an undercover video of conditions at the plant in 2004, investigators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that some plant employees had violated humane slaughter regulations.