Today, Tuesday, November 4, 2003 , I accompanied four Crandall High School students to our 40 acre farm next to Dallas Crown so they could take photos of horses and the live horse slaughter plant.  They write for the school newspaper and are working on an article about Dallas Crown and my efforts to shut it down.

 

Their teacher/sponsor called me early this morning to say she had seen horses in the open pen when she drove past Dallas Crown on her way to Crandall, and she thought today might be a good day to get some pictures.  Crandall is 8 miles west of Kaufman on US Hwy 175, and Dallas Crown is visible from the highway.

 

By the time we arrived at the fence line, around 8:45 am , the horses were already out of view, but we noticed that we were creating quite a stir on the plant premises.  We could see 5-7 men looking at us, and finally two men came to talk.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were both investigators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  They were hesitant about giving me their names, but one of the investigators gave me his business card.  He is with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Investigative and Enforcement Services, Western Region, and his office is in Weatherford , Texas .  He explained that he investigates for violations of the humane transport regulations and might drop in on Dallas Crown or Beltex at any time.  The other investigator said he is there every Tuesday and Thursday to see the horses as they enter the kill chute.  He is not the meat inspector.  He confirmed that the meat inspector is named Meadows.  That is the same Darrell Meadows I met on September 21, 2002 just before he began work at Dallas Crown on September 23.

 

The writer/students hit the jackpot with being able to talk with federal investigators.  They left very happy.

 

Mary Nash

Kaufman , Tx