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The society said the video, showing a small number of crippled cows in states of distress, demonstrates a lack of federal or state oversight of conditions at the intermediate point from farm to slaughterhouse.
The cows in the videos did not enter the food supply, the society said.
The video was taken over the last six weeks at auctions and stockyards in Texas, Maryland, New Mexico and Greencastle, Pa. - 65 miles west of Harrisburg.
The video of the Greencastle Livestock Auction shows a crippled male calf that had been left in a pen without food, water or medical attention for as long as seven hours. Investigators documented the calf lying in the pen for three hours after the auction before it expired.
"We were concerned this animal was there in this state for this many hours," said Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society president. "At that age, he may have starved."
He said the group's investigation highlights not only the inhumane treatment of animals, but also the potential for sick animals to enter the food supply.
"This is a systemic problem that we do not have federal state people [monitoring] the intermediate transport points," Pacelle said. "There is a gap in animal-handling standards that need to be addressed."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef and shut down the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., after a society video showed workers forcing crippled cows to stand using electric prods, forklifts and water hoses.
The agency said the company did not prevent the downer cows - which pose a greater risk of illnesses such as mad cow disease - from entering the food supply.
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