CA Group Convinces Grocery Chain to Stop Carrying Rabbit Meat from Cruel Slaughterhouse

An international protection group has convinced the 230-store Harris Teeter grocery chain with stores in eight states and D.C. to promise it would no longer carry rabbit meat from an Arkansas slaughterhouse caught on undercover video brutalizing rabbits. See: http://rabbitcruelty.com/.

Last Chance for Animals (LCA), whose undercover video exposed the slaughterhouse, received a message from Harris Teeter corporate following the announcement last week that LCA was targeting the chain for protests, and demanding it stop carrying products from Pel-Freez, the largest rabbit slaughterhouse in the nation.

An email to LCA from Danna Robinson, Harris Teeter's communications manager, said:
"Harris Teeter takes animal welfare issues very seriously. When this issue was brought to our attention, we pulled all product from our frozen food cases. The company has not received product from this supplier since Oct. 2014, and we do not intend to do any further business with Pel-Freez."

LCA thanked Harris Teeter in an official statement sent via email, noting: "(We are) glad to hear that Pel-Freez has been pulled from the shelves, and that Harris Teeter has no plans to purchase Pel-Freez products again," but urged the stores to "not to even consider buying from this company in the future," warning "We will be watching them, as you can imagine, and we will also be monitoring Harris Teeter."

"LCA's investigation shows Pel-Freez already lied to the public, passing off torturously cruel treatment of rabbits as 'humane.' Any company that would inflict such horrific and systematic brutality to an animal – breaking the legs of still-conscious rabbits, and decapitating them as they scream in pain – should not be given another chance, and would not hesitate to lie about animal cruelty again," said LCA.

LCA had demanded last week that Harris Teeter immediately terminate its relationship with Pel-Freez after LCA's hidden camera investigation found extreme, systematic cruelty at Pel-Freez, including:

> Pel-Freez workers delivering repeated blows to rabbits’ faces with the back end of a knife to stun them (ineffectively). Workers then decapitate the rabbits while they scream in terror.


> Terrified rabbits, many of them fully conscious, were flipped upside down, and their legs snapped in half before being hung on a hook and have their heads cut off.

> The brutal slaughter was prolonged as the killer’s blade dulled. Rabbits’ agonizing screams – rabbits are normally silent - were heard until the knife reached their vocal chords.
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Last Chance for Animals (LCA) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating animal exploitation through education, investigations, legislation, and public awareness campaigns. Since its formation in 1984, LCA has succeeded as one of the nation’s pioneer animal advocacy organizations. LCA’s Sam Simon Special Investigations Unit documents abuse in research labs, puppy mills, factory farms, and the entertainment industry, and works with prosecutors to put animal abusers behind bars. For more information please visit http://www.lcanimal.org.