Despite offers from sanctuaries to provide a home for some of the 39 remaining cows that briefly escaped from a Pico Rivera slaughterhouse on Tuesday, all but one of the animals have been euthanized for meat, the company said Saturday.
“I am in the meat business. The animals were collected. Keep in mind that they were bred for the public to consume, ”Anthony Di Maria, president of Manning Beef LLC, told City News Service.
Forty cows escaped Tuesday night when an employee mistakenly left a door open. The animals stampeded through residential streets, causing some property damage. One was killed by a sheriff’s deputy after attacking a family, and another was recovered two days later in south El Monte, about five miles away.
That animal will be sent to Farm Sanctuary in Acton pending a health screening by state agricultural officials, thanks to the efforts of composer Diane Warren and the Animal Alliance Network.
City officials said the animal’s life will be saved thanks to a Grammy-winning songwriter.
“Watching these cows escape their horrible fate broke my heart,” Warren said. “They knew what awaited them. They are intelligent, empathetic and beautiful souls. “
Pico Rivera City Manager Steve Carmona said Thursday the city had been speaking with Manning Beef about the possibility of moving all escaped cows to a sanctuary.
Carmona said that the city had “several people who approached – other sanctuaries and also individuals – who offered to donate to acquire these animals. We will facilitate the dialogue with the owner to see if that can happen ”.
But Di María said Saturday that only one cow would be donated. He added that he has donated both the mother and the calf “on numerous occasions” to sanctuaries in the past when a pregnant animal is delivered to the facility.
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“We have feelings as humans for animals,” Pico Rivera city councilor Erik Lutz told reporters on Thursday. “… It’s ironic, but yes, we have to eat, and in a couple of hours I imagine that all of you will also be hungry.” Carmona added that Pico Rivera “obviously will not allow any future slaughterhouse to exist” in the city.
About 40 protesters gathered outside the slaughterhouse in the 9500 block of Beverly Road Thursday night to advocate for cow freedom, and Manning Beef’s Facebook page contained several posts this week from members of the public urging the company. to save the lives of animals.
“While it seems that it should be simple to donate an animal to a sanctuary, strict but important regulations that exist to keep animals and humans safe apply in the situation. We are in the process of releasing the last cow found, ”the company posted early Saturday.
The company also said its owner was injured during the original effort to retrieve the animals.
FBI agents along with other federal agencies carried out a search warrant at a San Pedro location.
“The owner broke his hip while helping to round up the cattle. While his surgery today was successful, he is still in a lot of pain and will face a long road to recovery, ”the publication said.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials received a call from someone who had seen the last cow, and deputies managed to find the animal around 6 a.m. near Rosemead Boulevard and the Pomona Highway (60).
The cows escaped around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Pico Rivera Station received a call from loose cows on city streets. Sheriff’s officials said an open door had allowed the cows to flee the slaughterhouse around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The cows were on the loose for hours, roaming residential neighborhoods and evading capture. One of the cows took on a family of four, knocking some of them to the ground, according to the sheriff’s department. The relatives were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.
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“To protect the family from further injury, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed the animal,” according to the department. A leading animal rights group on Wednesday expressed regret over the recapture of the animals.
“PETA wishes that the cows that escaped from a slaughterhouse to a neighborhood in Pico Rivera, California, on Tuesday had reached freedom, something they fought hard to win, rather than being detained and returned to the slaughterhouse or, in the case of a cow – being shot at the scene by the police, ”according to a PETA statement.
“These cows’ desperate quest for freedom should have been recognized by moving them to a sanctuary, where they could have joined other rescued cows, suckled their calves in peace and lived their lives just as you and I hope.” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said.
“PETA invites everyone who applauded his escape or mourned his death to extend that compassion to all cows, and all other animals, by going vegan.”
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