Beyond Borders
During this investigation, Born Free USA and CIWF were shocked to uncover the common practice of shipping live pigs long distances on crowded trucks without food, water, or rest to be killed in Mexican slaughterhouses — far beyond the reach of the U.S. Humane Slaughter Act and the 28-Hour Law.
Pigs traveling from the U.S. to Mexico were transported in overcrowded trucks through hours and hours of baking desert heat without access to water for cooling or drinking.
At one Mexican slaughterhouse, investigators were informed that more than 400 pigs per day were slaughtered and that most came from the United States. Conversations between investigators and pig dealers in the U.S. reveal that low labor costs and the lack of government oversight are considered the primary (if not the only) benefits of sending live pigs to Mexico for slaughter.
Investigators also discovered that pigs transported from the U.S. may be slaughtered in Mexico, processed into pork products, and then shipped back to the United States for consumption. As the manager of one Mexican pork processing plant put it, the "raw product" (live pigs) is imported from the U.S., slaughtered and processed in Mexico (presumably because of lower labor costs), and then re-exported back north across the border.
