Please enjoy this article from the latest issue of our magazine, PETA Global. To begin your subscription, become a PETA member today!
Revealing the dirty little secrets of a slaughterhouse could’ve been the kiss of death for Swedish veterinarian Lina Gustafsson’s career. But, as she tells PETA UK in an exclusive interview, after working for four months as a slaughterhouse veterinarian, she felt compelled to dispute the meat industry’s “humane” claims and reveal the raw deal animals really get in a new diss-and-tell book, Report From a Slaughterhouse.
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When I was 6 or 7, I got a rabbit who became my best friend. The affection between us didn’t diminish in any way because he was a rabbit and not a human. I felt a strong loyalty to animals through my relationship with him. This motivated me to do as much as I could to change their situation.
When I was 11, I realized that meat had the same background as my rabbit – it came from the body of a living animal. But my first attempt at being a vegetarian didn’t last long. At a McDonald’s, I saw a brochure advertising their environmental initiative to remove all the paper around their straws. And I saw that the straws displayed … had paper around them! So I wrote to McDonald’s and said, “You are lying about the paper!” In return, I got a voucher for a Big Mac. So there I was eating this burger, and my dad said, “Aren’t you a vegetarian now?” Then I really committed and went vegetarian. And I went vegan at 14.
[While working at the slaughterhouse], it became impossible not to notice that inside each pig there is someone who is thinking and feeling. What we do to animals is forced. They don’t want to be transported, kept together on cramped surfaces, or go into the carbon dioxide container, and they don’t want to die. Pigs are very perceptive animals. It’s an unknown place, where many scared animals have walked before, and it’s clear that it’s a fearful moment for them.
Animals were prodded too harshly and beaten excessively. Pavement was often too wet, and the pigs were in water. It was winter and they were freezing. The biggest suffering happens within the realm of what is legal. And in that case, [vets] don’t have the power to do anything.
[Sweden has] an animal welfare law that promises more than it puts into action. And things are allowed that go against these regulations. One good example is that pigs are killed by carbon dioxide, which is extremely painful and anguish-inducing. Laws and regulations are no guarantee that animals are treated well or live a good life. But having these laws in place is a great marketing argument to get people to buy Swedish meat.
I hope we can find a way to live with animals that does not involve us dominating them. I hope we realize that we are just one species among others, not the masters of the planet.
Don’t get hosed by humane washing. There’s no kind way to slaughter an animal. Go to PETA.org/VSK for a free vegan starter kit. And seek out people who still eat meat and give them their first taste of vegan foods.
