Argentina’s kill floors: What animals see before they die
Pinned against the metal gate, she waits for her turn to die.
The cows ahead push backward in panic, crushing her tighter against the bars.
They’ve seen what’s coming.
Her chest heaves. Her eyes dart.
It’s as if I can hear her heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Our investigators found her inside an Argentine slaughterhouse—one of two documented in our latest investigation.
These facilities run like assembly lines.
Trucks unload. Gates open. Animals are funneled down narrow chutes to the kill floor.
By law, each cow must enter the stunning stall alone. Here, they will be knocked unconscious before their throats are slit.
But at these facilities, workers force several inside at once.
Workers swing sledgehammers as animals collapse, side by side or stacked on top of each other.
Burned into my memory is the view from the chute—the narrow passage forcing cows toward the stunning box.
Cows wait just inches from the killing area. A thin plank of wood is the only barrier between the living and the dying.
Between the slats, they see the blows land. They hear bodies hit the floor. Perhaps they even smell the blood.
And then the gate opens, leaving them nowhere to go but forward.
As the International Investigations Analyst, I reviewed every raw frame from this investigation.
I watched pigs shocked with electric prods on their genitals—illegal, but done anyway.
I saw workers strike animals, pull their ears, and scream at them. These acts are not explicitly banned by Argentine law.
Argentina now joins the long list of countries complicit in animal cruelty–one that includes the United States.
And that’s why we need monthly supporters more than ever…
To end their suffering and hold abusers accountable.
WILL YOU STEP UP FOR HER?
Her mother’s life was spent in a cage. She will suffer the same fate. But you can change this for millions of animals, currently trapped in factory farms.
Your support makes our investigations, campaigns, and legal work possible .
Only $25/month impacts 1,300 animals in a year.
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As a thank you, we’d love to share our growing library of global, plant-based recipes.
These recipes honor cultural traditions while protecting animals–just like the ones in this investigation.
We’ve already filed a formal complaint with Argentine authorities. The evidence is under review.
But the truth is already clear.
What will you do with it?
John Hopkinson
International Investigations Analyst
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