An undercover investigation by anonymous activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at University of Denver (AALDP) has documented horrific violence and unlawful animal cruelty at the nation’s largest supplier of lamb meat, Superior Farms, in Denver, CO. Between July and August 2024, animal rights activists placed hidden cameras at the slaughterhouse. Superior Farms claims that their Denver slaughterhouse is “humane” and “halal-certified.” but hours upon hours of video footage show that the company has been lying to consumers.
Horrific Violence And Unlawful Animal Cruelty Captured on Camera
The undercover footage taken inside the Denver slaughterhouse reveals harrowing scenes of terror and desperation. In the video, lambs struggle to escape while workers violently grab their wool and slam them towards the slaughter line. Hidden cameras and drone footage captured:
- Frightened lambs getting kicked and hit with paddles.
- Lambs grabbed by their ears and tails and violently slammed to the floor.
- Animals with broken legs forcibly dragged up a ramp to the electric stunner.
- Workers laughing, spanking animals, and engaging in simulated sex acts as lambs are having their throats slit.
- Lambs gasping for breath, lifting their heads, and thrashing in agony after having their throats cut multiple times.
Violations of Halal Slaughter Protocol
Perhaps most disturbingly, hundreds of lambs at the Denver slaughterhouse were documented lifting their heads after having their throats cut, signifying a catastrophic failure in the stunning process. According to the USDA’s Guide to Humane Handling, while some body movement post-throat-cutting is normal, a properly stunned lamb should have a limp head, with no signs of trying to lift it. This suggests that many lambs at Superior Farms remain conscious through the process, suffering as their necks are sawed open.
The heartbreaking footage even shows supervisors performing a ‘consciousness-check’ on lambs whose throats have been slit, then failing to take action when lambs show clear signs of consciousness. The USDA considers this negligence to be a case of “egregious inhumane treatment.”
This failure in “humane” slaughter practices is compounded by multiple violations of Halal principles, in which multiple cutting attempts are made instead of the required single, swift cut. This means the animals feel repeated painful cuts at their neck as they hang upside down and start bleeding to death.
This Violence Extends Beyond Superior Farms’ Denver Facility
The suffering these lambs endure extends beyond the walls of the Denver slaughterhouse. Many of them come from Cactus Hill, one of Colorado’s largest lamb feedlots, located in Windsor, just 53 miles north of Superior Farms. Here, tens of thousands of lambs are tightly packed together in a lot full of manure, exposed to extreme heat and cold, and fed an unnatural diet of soy and corn.
For years, whistleblowers have repeatedly documented lambs arriving at Superior Farms suffering from prolapsed organs, a condition where internal organs protrude outside the body due to extreme stress and malnutrition. Direct Action Everywhere’s recent investigation confirms that not only are uterine prolapses common at Superior Farms, but these sick lambs are sent down the slaughter line just like the others. This lack of basic care is animal cruelty and is a far cry from the idyllic image the industry wants us to believe.
Humanewashing
These findings not only reveal shocking violence and unlawful animal cruelty happening at the Denver slaughterhouse, they also cast doubt on Superior Farms’ professed commitment to animal welfare. A Superior Farms representative recently claimed that the facility has a “constant USDA inspector on-site,” and that the plant “performed well” on a recent animal welfare audit. If this is what animal welfare looks like, we need urgent change.
USDA Records Reveal Long History of Violations at Superior Farms
Newly obtained USDA records show that Superior Farms’ Denver facility has a documented history of the same inhumane slaughter violations captured in recent footage. In December 2015, USDA officials witnessed an animal displaying signs of consciousness – blinking, breathing, and attempting to right herself – after being stunned and hung on the slaughter line. While this was deemed an “egregious noncompliance,” the facility faced no suspension.
Just months later, in July 2016, the USDA was forced to shut down production at Superior Farms for the same violation: failing to properly stun animals before slaughter. The facility resumed operations merely two days later.
These records also reveal concerning oversight practices. USDA animal welfare audits require officials to observe two full truck unloadings to ensure proper animal handling. However, in 2014, documents show officials completed an inspection after observing just one truck unloading, despite having previously failed to complete a full inspection for the same reason. No disciplinary action was taken for these incomplete inspections. Furthermore, Freedom of Information Act records obtained by Civil Eats document over 600 instances of non-compliance with USDA standards at the Denver facility since 2019, including repeated violations involving fecal contamination during meat processing.
This pattern of violations adds weight to recent findings and raises serious questions about Superior Farms’ claims of “humane” practices and proper oversight. These revelations demonstrate that the documented abuses are not isolated incidents but part of a longer history of concerning practices at the facility.