Steam rises from carcasses in a cooler at the Vermont Packinghouse in Springfield on February 5, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Local police are investigating an incident last summer at a North Springfield slaughterhouse in which a federal investigator witnessed what it described as “inhumane” animal handling. 

On June 3, a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector reported observing a truck driver at Vermont Packinghouse unloading pigs, kicking them in the head and neck, and shoving them off the back of a trailer. The pigs appeared to be suffering heat stroke after an eight-hour journey from a New York farm in the summer sun, according to the inspector’s findings. 

After the incident came to light in a quarterly USDA report of noncompliance records, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals last month called for a criminal probe. The organization, known as PETA, sent a letter to Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough on Nov. 26 urging him to take action.

A USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service spokesperson wrote in an email to VTDigger that the agency assesses a variety of factors to determine recourse after a humane handling violation. Those factors include the severity of the violation, the facility’s history of violations and whether the facility has a “robust systematic approach to humane handling.” The federal agency does not have plans for further action in this case, according to the spokesperson.

“The issuance of noncompliance reports and conversations with the establishment enabled the agency to address the incident,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

Officer Gabriel Freeman of the Springfield Police Department told VTDigger that the case is under investigation but declined to discuss the alleged incident. He added that animal cruelty investigations take time to process and said his department is assessing resources and jurisdictional issues related to the case. He also questioned whether the case would fall within federal jurisdiction. 

Goodenough, the Windsor County prosecutor, said his office was aware of PETA’s demand but could not comment because Springfield police were investigating.

Nick Paschkov, chief operating officer of Vermont Packinghouse, said in an email last week that the truck driver responsible for the alleged incident was a “third-party hauler” and not an employee of Vermont Packinghouse. The driver has since been permanently banned from the facility, he said.

The USDA report noted, however, that Vermont Packinghouse employees witnessed the incident and failed to take action to stop what it referred to as an “immediate animal welfare concern.”

Paschkov wrote that his company had taken measures since the June incident to prevent further harm, such as adding a ramp for unloading livestock and changing unloading hours to before 9 a.m. to prevent animals from overheating. Vermont Packinghouse has also increased employee supervision and instituted mandatory training for staff by the start of next year, according to Paschkov.

“We fully recognize the gravity of this situation and remain dedicated to preventing future occurrences. Vermont Packinghouse continues to uphold its commitment to humane animal handling as a cornerstone of our operations and values,” Paschkov said in the email.

Colin Henstock, associate director of project strategy for PETA, said the USDA documentation of the incident carries no civil or criminal penalties and pointed to a 2012 case, Nat’l. Meat Assoc. V. Harris, that found states can impose civil or criminal charges for animal cruelty that also violates federal law. 

Local authorities have the power to bring “some small measure of justice” for the animals that were allegedly abused — and it’s their responsibility to pursue that, said Henstock.

Vermont’s animal cruelty statute describes it, in part, as overworking, overloading, torturing or tormenting animals and is punishable by a sentence of no more than one year in prison or a fine of no more than $2,000, or both.

However, just what agency has ultimate jurisdiction over animal cruelty cases in Vermont has been a murky question — one that lawmakers have wrestled with over time. 

The Legislature took a step toward addressing what agency should be responsible for animal cruelty cases earlier this year by creating an animal cruelty division within the Department of Public Safety. 

Scott Waterman, a spokesperson for the state Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, wrote in an email that the enforcement of criminal laws regarding animal cruelty and protecting animal welfare lie outside his agency’s purview, but it can work with law enforcement on investigations into cruelty against livestock upon request. 

“It is important that all federal and state facilities comply with humane handling requirements,” Waterman wrote. “The agency supports good investigations and subsequent criminal prosecution whenever the facts warrant it.”

Henstock noted that Vermont Packinghouse came under scrutiny seven years ago after workers improperly restrained and stunned pigs before slaughter. The USDA temporarily suspended operations at Vermont Packinghouse several times over six months due to the botched slaughter practices. 

In that case, the state agriculture agency charged Vermont Packinghouse with six counts of violating Vermont humane slaughter laws and proposed a $1,500 fee in 2017. At that time, the USDA documented 15 noncompliance violations for Vermont Packinghouse over two years. 

Arion Thiboumery, who was then serving as general manager of Vermont Packinghouse, responded in a commentary published by VTDigger in 2017 that the company had paid the fine to the state and upgraded handling equipment and updated procedures to “reduce the chance of future incidents.” While not refuting the violations, Thiboumery said the company strives for transparency and humane handling. 

A year later, an inspector observed that a worker improperly stunned sheep, leading the USDA to issue a suspension to Vermont Packinghouse and order the company to stop slaughtering sheep. After the company filed a plan to prevent future “mis-stuns,” the USDA lifted the suspension, but the incident still led to a hearing overseen by the state agriculture agency over three alleged violations of the state’s humane handling laws. 

“At a bare minimum,” Henstock said, PETA expects facilities to follow “the letter of the law in Vermont.”

“This facility, in particular, seems to have a persistent problem, and we hope that if charges are brought in this instance, that that will change things,” Henstock said.