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The Truth Behind “Saddest Slaughterhouse Footage Ever”

by | Sep 25, 2024 | Animal Slaughter Myths

Forgive me for posting some old content. Sadly, many people are still new to this “old” content.

The video (which I cannot imbed here) is eleven years old. I posted about it years ago, but when I moved content, things just up and disappeared for some odd reason.

That’s fine, though. I’ll be writing about the same stuff as I did before.

Please see this three-minute video called Death Row (Not Gory), formerly named Saddest Slaughterhouse Footage Ever. Screenshots of what I’m talking about are posted below.

What’s interesting to note is that, despite how not-gory the footage is, many vegans have expressed how “sad” or “angry” this has made them.

Here are some quotes you might find interesting (Source: Reddit):

That little face, trying to turn around, wracking its brain for another option. Not sure what’s going on, but knowing it isn’t good. Treating any sentient being like a cog in a machine is torture, pure and simple.

I can’t watch it.. I won’t be able to handle it. I can only imagine 🙁

This is just so incredibly heartbreaking. What gets me the most is to see the fear and sadness in these poor animal’s eyes. THIS is the reason I am vegan. THIS is no different than the holocaust. I can just imagine how terrified I would be while awaiting my death, walking down that hallway. There is absolutely NOTHING that sets me apart from any living being on this planet.

Everybody who wants to buy or order meat should be required to have watched this. Just once. Then he/she could go on and do whatever she/he wants. It’s not gory, there is no obvious violence, people should be able to put up with it. What a terrible waiting time for this animal before an even more awful end.

There is no blood, but it is very heartbreaking. […] The sad thing is they both know what is about to happen, and they are terrified. […] Although you cannot see it happening in the video, you can hear him screaming as he’s being murdered. When the other cow hears this, he becomes even more frightened and tries desperately a couple of times to escape. You can just see sadness and fear in his eyes. […] The poor thing knows what’s coming for him, and it is just heart wrenching.

The last quote you will want to pay the most attention to. It highlights two important topics I will cover.

  1. The steers/bullocks “know what is about to happen.”
  2. The steers/bullocks are very terrified.

I call into question both assumptions for one crucial reason: Anthropomorphism.

The Foolishness of Humanizing Cows

Anthropomorphism is the practice of transferring human emotions and thoughts to non-human beings, including cattle. Another way to remember this long, hard-to-pronounce sciency word is “humanizing animals.”

Humanizing animals is an easy way for people to interpret what an animal or plant is doing or thinking. Nine times out of ten, this interpretation is entirely wrong. Why? Because people do not know how animals think and behave. It’s so easy to humanize animals because it’s in our nature to do so.

It is far more challenging to get out of that mindset and “think like a cow” or “think like a dog.” Realistically, cows and dogs think and behave much differently than we do.

Let’s talk cows in this case. Cows and cattle are prey animals. We, humans, are predatory animals. Prey animals are much more prone to flee without question than predators are.

Humans are far more intellectually and cognitively advanced than most animals, including cows and cattle. We are far more curious and questioning about the future and what happens after we die than most, if not all, non-human animals are. As far as we know, despite their proven sentience, cows and cattle do not care much about the future or when or how they will die.

Cows and cattle live in the present moment. We humans often do not.

I will argue that the steers in that video do not know what will happen to them. This belief is a preconceived, highly erroneous, emotionally manipulative assumption that is based on anthropomorphism.

To anyone who disagrees with me, let me ask you this: When was the last time you were a cow yourself? How do you know how cows think and behave when you more than likely have never closely studied their behaviour and psychology and unmistakably bear the flesh, bones, and brain of a human being?

If you were truly a cow, you wouldn’t know how to operate a computer, let alone have the ability to read this article. You wouldn’t even know about the vegan versus meat-eater debates, either.

If you were truly a cow, the only things you would care about are eating, pooping, ruminating (or chewing cud), and maintaining social hierarchy with your fellow herdmates. That’s it.

Now that I’ve debunked the first vegan argument, let’s move on to the second. For that, we need to examine the video more closely.

What’s Happening In The Video: A Stockwoman’s Interpretation

I’ve worked with cattle for many years. I’ve seen the difference between mildly interested and wildly terrified cattle. The contrast is too enormous to ignore.

During the first thirty seconds, we see the two steers standing idly by in the chute.

Start of video: Two steers trying to listen, see and smell what’s going on around them.

Note the ears are pointed forward. Both of these animals are standing still. This tells me just how supposedly “fearful” they are.

I put the word “fearful” in quotes because I’m mocking what vegans are claiming. The truth is, neither of these steers are acting fearful. Instead, all I see is curiosity.

They are clearly in an unfamiliar environment, and they are curious about the sights, sounds, and smells around them. The forward-facing ears clearly indicate they’re curious about what’s going on. They don’t know what’s happening now, but are trying to process it. (Remember, cattle have much-limited brain capacity compared to us, so they cannot create imaginary scenarios that may or may not create more fear than necessary.)

The chute has solid sides which is good for them because it blocks their visuals. Solid sides are good for cattle because it gets them to focus on what’s in front of them instead of all around them.

If they could see what’s going on around them on all sides visually, they would act more fearful. The solid sides are a Temple Grandin design to enable calm, humane handling of livestock prior to slaughter.

A Demonstration of How the Flight Zone Works

At the 45-second mark, things start to change. We see two key moments:

  1. A man comes out of the door, which is visible in the top-left corner.
  2. The steer in front begins to move backward.
At 0:45, the man comes out and the front steer moves backwards.

Cattle have flight zones. The first steer (and we’ll see the same in the second) has a flight zone that exceeds the distance where the man walks into.

Flight zone illustration by yours truly.

I say this because it’s the best explanation for why the front steer moves away from the man. Yes, part of it is fear, but the other main part is that he instinctually maintains this bubble because it’s his right to do so to maintain comfort.

Every human and animal has their personal bubbles they love to maintain. It’s a form of comfort, as well as safety. Some personal bubbles are bigger than others; it depends on the individual.

If that personal bubble is not respected, two things are bound to happen: the first is to move away. If the first doesn’t work, the second is to fight back.

The steer neither has the ability nor reason to fight back. The man is well above him, where he can be seen. He is not pushing further into the steer’s flight zone, so the only thing the steer can continue to do is to try to move away.

However, he is limited to how far he can back up because his “friend” is behind him, and he is in a chute.

Note also that he (the steer) is not acting “very frightened” like many people in the video’s comments section and on Reddit claim.

More on that later.

Now, the steer moves backward because the man unconsciously moves at the “perfect” angle toward the steer’s shoulder.

I’ve done this myself with steers kept in a chute where I walked level to them. When I walked at about a 45-degree angle towards their shoulder (see the illustration above at the 90-degree point between the head and the centre point of the shoulder), they consistently tried to back up. Why? It’s just how they operated.

When I continued past them to the back of their shoulder, they felt the need to move forward. My pressure changed from coming at them from the front to coming at them from behind (even though I was walking away).

This is precisely what happens in this video.

At 0:48, the steer looks up at the man and sees him moving behind his shoulder and begins moving forward.

What’s slightly concerning to me is the use of the shock prod. I feel it wasn’t necessary because the steer was already encouraged to go forward simply because the man placed himself at two crucial points: behind the shoulder and at the hip.

Both points are going to generate forward movement. Ironically, the exact moment that steer began to move forward the man thought it was a good idea to push even more with the little shock prod.

Perhaps he didn’t know the beauty of continuing to walk straight past the steers to stimulate their forward movement. I’ll never know.

Follow the Leader

At 0:50, the man places a shock to the steer’s rump despite him already generating the desired forward movement. The second steer follows close behind.

The second steer is keen to follow because that’s his herding instincts kicking in. Safety for prey animals like cattle is in numbers. They never like to be alone.

However, the kill box is only big enough for one animal.

From 0:55 to 1:04, the second steer is rather gently prodded to move out of the way of the kill box’s guillotine door.

The shock prod is only providing light shocks to the animal. It doesn’t hurt them whatsoever.

The second steer wants to follow and keep with his herdmate, that is all. He has zero clue what will happen to either his friend or himself.

And once again, I see absolutely no fear in these animals. If there is any fear, it’s mild.

A Scream for Help from Being “Murdered”???

At 1:102, the kill door closed and the second steer is now by himself in the chute.

From 1:04 to 1:13 I listened VERY, VERY CAREFULLY (volume all the way up) to listen for what this one Redditor claimed:

Although you cannot see it happening in the video, you can hear him screaming as he’s being murdered.

Let me be blunt: That is the BIGGEST LIE you and I have ever heard.

The only “screaming” (barely even that) was from the other man waiting patiently with the cap-bolt gun in the building. And it wasn’t even “screaming”! It was just a little whoop to both encourage the first steer further into the kill box and to discourage the second steer behind from venturing further.

How in the heck someone can call that “screaming” as coming from that steer is beyond me.

I heard nothing except quiet silence from that first steer—no loud bellering or “screaming” whatsoever.

Twenty seconds later, a loud POP can be heard.

From 1:02 to 1:20, we see the camera unnecessarily zoom in (I don’t know why the cameraman decided that was a good idea) and the last steer back away from the door.

At 1:20 the first steer is knocked unconscious with the cap-bolt gun, and the second steer has backed up away from the door. He continues to back up after hearing the sound.

The steer has backed away from the door for possibly two reasons.

  1. Insecurity because he is now by himself. As mentioned above, cattle don’t exactly like to be alone. They feel exposed and vulnerable.
  2. To better see, smell and hear what is going on around him.

Once again, there is little evidence of this steer being “very frightened.” I see that he feels a little less secure about himself because he’s alone in the chute. Also, as mentioned, this is an unfamiliar place for him, so he won’t be completely comfortable and at ease about where he’s at.

But does ANY of this point to the “fact” that he knows what will happen to him?

Absolutely NOT.

At this point, when he hears the shot going off, he backs up even further. This is partly out of fear of not knowing what’s happening and partly because it’s a loud, sudden sound. Loud, sudden sounds would shock anybody if they were not expecting them. Naturally, it will spook him somewhat and make him back away from it.

You really cannot seriously argue otherwise.

At 1:25, the second steer backed up further, almost to the back. We hear this “scream” that vegans claim came from the “murdered” first steer.

The first is that this second steer backs right up to the back gate of this chute. Again, I cannot stress enough that he feels insecure and alone.

The second is that we finally hear the “scream” that the vegan was talking about. What’s interesting to note is that this occurs a full five seconds AFTER the blast of the cap-bolt gun is heard!

Was the first steer still alive after the cap-bolt gun fired that big pin into his brain? Or was this just actually from another group of cattle somewhere behind or to the right of the cameraman and the chute waiting for their turn to submit their one-way ticket to Bovine Heaven?

The thing is, sound bounces around like a ping-pong ball when it’s directed at solid walls. While it sounds like it’s coming from inside the building, the sound more than likely bounced off the wall in the background of this slaughter facility and went towards the cameraman.

According to animal behaviourist experts (like Temple Grandin), animals that are truly dead or unconscious (cattle in this case) should not vocalize. EVER. If a bovine were still conscious and alive, it would indeed still be able to make sounds.

I listened for a full 15 more seconds to see if there was going to be another BANG from the first steer. I heard (and you will hear) nothing.

All I heard was men talking and machines whirring as the dead steer was hoisted up by its back legs to be skinned, gutted, and dismembered.

An Insecure, Lonely Steer

At 1:29 the steer is a bit confused, sniffing around, looking at the cameraman standing silently behind him, and not sure about where he should go.

From 1:25 to 1:59, we see that this last steer is pretty unsure of himself. He’s moving backward and forward repeatedly, sniffing at the walls and the ground.

There is zero evidence that he knows what’s going on and what’s about to happen to him. There is one hundred percent evidence that he’s unsure of himself since he’s alone and unsure of his surroundings. He’s just trying to gather as much information as possible to better inform himself of what’s happening but remains uncertain of his safety or surroundings.

He’s also unsure what to think about the cameraman behind him. He likely doesn’t trust the man and sees he’s being of no help, so he decides it’s best to just walk a little ways forward to keep the man out of his flight zone.

A Sign of Extreme Fear??

I can understand why people would feel sorry for this guy. Here, he’s trying to get himself turned around in the chute purely because he wants out.

He’s tired of standing alone by himself. He wants to return with his herdmates, is probably quite hungry (and thirsty), and wants to lie in comfortable bedding, chewing his cud. He wants to retreat to where he feels most comfortable. That is all.

So once again, I see no evidence that he’s terrified nor knows what’s coming to him!

See, a steer (or cow or bull or any animal) that is TRULY terrified would be rapidly running back and forth in this chute. They would try desperately to climb or jump out of where they’re at. They would be snorting, blowing snot, bellering, rapidly jerking their head up and down, and even running right up to the kill box’s door to forcefully lift it with their head (and possibly succeed, as they’re VERY strong animals). You’ll also see the tail rapidly switching back and forth.

Key words here: QUICK, ERRATIC MOVEMENTS. Those are very clear signs of a bovine in real fear.

Most people mistake that fear as aggression. This is true, though, as a bovine that feels real fear can become fear-aggressive. When they cannot escape or run away, they get “angry” and go into fight-mode.

Do I see any of that in this video?

Absolutely not.

This steer isn’t frightened or panicked. He’s just confused, unsure, insecure, curious, but not frightened.

Clearly, anyone who claims this steer is frightened is either clueless about bovine behaviour or outright lying. Or both.

It’s Your Turn! Same Behaviour as First Steer

Finally, at 2:40, it is the second steer’s turn to enter the kill box. He moves backwards and needs the shock prod to encourage forward movement.

I don’t need to reiterate what I mentioned before at this point in the video because the same thing happens with this second steer as it did with the first.

The man finally comes out (at least a minute later, which probably seemed like an eternity for this second steer), and our second steer sees him and backs up. Again, this is because the man can’t help but be at the front point of his shoulder.

This time, the second steer doesn’t move forward because,

  1. He’s backed himself up as far as possible (relatively speaking) to the back gate of the chute and
  2. This man cannot walk further back as the cameraman is in his way.

Thanks to the other guy behind the camera, the man cannot help but remain near or at the front of the second steer’s shoulder. The steer knows this and stays put right up until he feels the shock at his rump.

The shock quickly generates forward movement right up to the kill box.

At 2:48, the second steer is finally about to meet his maker in the kill box. The man remains behind him, encouraging forward movement to the building.

What continues the forward movement is that the man is now able to remain behind the shoulder and at the steer’s hip, further moving him up to the kill box.

I almost feel like that final shock wasn’t necessary. However, I can understand why it was utilized. This man has more than likely had thousands of steers, cows, and bulls before this one balk (stops movement completely) right at the entrance of the kill box and anticipates this.

To avoid this, he gives the steer another shock so that he’s fully into the box and the door can shut right behind him.

What I noticed here is a steer that didn’t argue nor protest about going into the kill box.

This clearly indicates that he has no idea what will happen to him.

The end is nigh for this steer. His body will be turned into nutritious food for many people to enjoy.

We see the box door close, and the steer still confused. The camera zoomed in to look at his back feet. The steer’s back feet splayed out to the sides, obviously with his rump pressed against the door. He’s in yet another unfamiliar place with unfamiliar sights and smells, confused again about where he’s at this time.

Again, I see back feet that aren’t wildly kicking or flailing about. These are signs of a calm and quiet steer, somewhat afraid but not entirely. He’s more unsure and confused than anything.

Then all of a sudden, BANG-BONG, and he hits the ground like a ton of bricks. No sounds, no screaming, nothing. Just life and then suddenly death.

Concluding Thoughts

Let’s look at this hypothetically. IF–and this is a big “if”–he (the “innocent” steer) knew what was about to happen to him, that he knew he was about to die, he wouldn’t be so willing to walk into that kill box. Would he?

Think about it. If you knew for sure that that box meant the end of your very existence, would you be as willing and able as that steer to just jaunt inside after a couple of little shocks to the buttocks? Or would you fight tooth-and-nail to the very end, screaming and kicking and clawing your way out right up to when the cap-bolt (or bullet) penetrates your skull and muddles up your brains?

I think you know the answer.

So, with that, how in the f*** can that steer ACTUALLY know what was coming to him if he was so dang calm, quiet, and willing to venture right into that box?

Be honest, folks. You know full well he never knew what was coming.

Then we have the “terribly frightened” aspect. Watching this entire video and understanding what frightened cattle act like towards me and other people I know and don’t know, I saw no evidence that either of these cattle were scared.

It’s like they were humanely treated right up to slaughter. It’s like… they were humanely slaughtered.

Vegans love to claim that such a term doesn’t exist, that it’s an oxymoron. Well, I hate to say this, but this “saddest slaughterhouse footage ever” proved them wrong without effort. It proved to me that humane slaughter exists; that animals can be treated well right up to when they are killed.

It’s not murder, either. Murder is a human-derived construct that doesn’t apply to animals. It’s an emotionally-manipulative word that is used to guilt people away from eating meat.

It may work on those who truly have no idea where their food comes from, or doesn’t realize the cellophane-wrapped steak they buy at the grocery store came from a living, breathing, sentient being. But it doesn’t work on people like me. Sorry.

Ten years ago, I didn’t like this video. But now I do. I’m glad this video exists, because it educates people on where their meat comes from. It also demonstrates how cattle should be treated right up to slaughter; they aren’t beaten or screamed at or stabbed like some militant extremists love to tell everyone. They’re calmly moved from point A to point B, shot only once with the cap bolt (not several times as I’ve seen before), and their bodies dealt with accordingly.

All for the sake of food production.

So, that’s a Two-For-One Myth Busted for the claims that, 1) animals know what’s about to happen when they’re killed for food, and 2) this is what an extremely terrified finisher steer looks like.

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