Hard Men

---

About 100 million animals are killed for their meat, which can be heard in the UK every month - But very little about the people doing The Killing . Here, a former slaughterhouse worker describes her Job , and the effect it had on their Mental Health .

warning: Some readers may find this story disturbing

When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. I imagined playing with the mischievous puppy, calms the frightened kitten, and as I was a countryside kid - carrying out check-ups on The Local farm animals when she was feeling under The Weather .

It was a pretty idyllic life, that I dreamed for me - But it's not quite how things worked out. Instead, I ended up in a slaughterhouse.

I was there for Six Years , and far from spend my days poor cows feel better, I was responsible for ensuring that over 250 killed by them, Every Day .

Whether you eat meat or not, Most People in the UK have never been inside a slaughterhouse - and for good reason. They are dirty, dirty places. There are animal feces on The Floor , you see and smell the viscera, and the walls are full of blood.

And the smell. It hits you like a wall when you first enter, And Then hangs thick in the air around you. The smell of dying animals surrounds you like a vapor.

Why should someone choose to visit, let alone Work in a place like this?

For me, since I already since a couple of decades of activity in the food Industry - ready-meal factories, and The Like . So, when I got an offer from a slaughterhouse to a Quality Control manager to Work directly with the slaughtermen, it felt like a pretty harmless Job . I was in my 40s at the time.

On my first day, they gave me a tour of the premises, explained to me how everything works and most importantly, asked me, pointedly and repeatedly if I was okay. It was quite common for people who are too weak, during The Tour , she explains, and the physical security of the visitors and new starters was very important to them. I was OK, I think. I felt sick, But I thought I would have to get used to.

Soon, however, I realized that there is no point in pretending that it was just another Job . I'm sure that not all abattoirs are the same, But to me was a brutal, dangerous place to Work . There have been countless occasions when, although all the procedures for the stun, Slayer would get, joined by a massive, spasming cow, as they hoisted it up to The Machine for the slaughter. Similarly, cows will be brought in would Get Scared and panicking, that was pretty terrifying for all of us. You will know if you were ever in addition to these huge animals.

I Personally have not suffered physical injuries, But also The Place influenced my opinion.

So I spent The Day in the large, windowless box, my chest felt increasingly heavy, and a gray mist enveloped me. In the night, my mind is taunting me with nightmares of The Horrors I had seen throughout The Day .

A skill that you master, while working in a slaughterhouse demarcation is. You will learn, deaf, death, and suffering. Instead of thinking about cows as whole beings, separate parts of you in your sale, edible body. It is not only make The Job easier - it is necessary for survival.

There are things, though, to shake that have The Power , the numbness. For me, it was the head.

At the end of the slaughter line, there was a huge skip, and it was filled with hundreds of cows heads. Each of them was flayed away with all of the saleable meat. But One thing was still their eyeballs.

always, When I walked past the skip, I couldn't help But feel like I had hundreds of pairs of eyes watching me. Some of them were accused of, to know that I participated in her death. To beg The Other tracks, As If there is any way I could go back In Time and save them. It was disgusting, terrifying, and heartbreaking, all at the same time. It made me feel guilty. The First Time I saw The Heads , it took all my strength not to vomit.

I know things like this bothered The Other employees. I'll never forget The Day , after I was already in the slaughterhouse for a few months, when One of the guys to cut into a freshly killed cow to good for your arrival and departure fell to the fetus of a calf. She was pregnant. He began to scream immediately, and throw the arms.

I led him into a conference room to reassure him - and all he could say was, "It is just not right, it is right," over and over again. These were Hard Men , and she rarely showed her feelings. But I could see tears prickling his eyes.

Even worse than pregnant cows, though, were the young calves, which we had sometimes to kill.

A physically demanding role

On its website, The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), says The British meat Industry .

Many of its members, it says, "at the top of the slaughterhouse design with facilities that help specially for the accommodation of The Animals and have them move The Site with ease and without pain, distress or suffering".

meat processing in the UK employs around 75,000 people worldwide, of which around 69% of the European Union , the BMPA notes are from other States.

"The Barrier of The British people, the taking of roles in the meat-processing Industry is the lack of willingness to Work in what is perceived to be a challenging environment," it says. "Most of the people, while you eat meat, find it difficult to Work in the production, partly because of the obvious aversion to the slaughter, But also because it is a physically demanding role. "

At The Height of the BSE and bovine tuberculosis crises in the 1990s, large groups of animals had to be slaughtered. I worked at the slaughterhouse after the year 2010, i.e. considerably after the BSE crisis, But if an animal tested positive for tuberculosis, you would still have killed whole families bring to the bulls, heifers, and calves. I remember One Day in particular when I had it for about a year or so, if we slaughter five calves at the same time.

We have tried to keep you in the guide rails of the pens, But they were so small and bony, you could just skip and trot round, slightly shaky on its newborn legs. She snarled at us, like puppies, because they were young and curious. Some of the guys and I stroked you, and you suckled our fingers.

When the time came to kill you, it was hard, both emotionally and physically. Slaughterhouses are designed for the slaughter, really large animals, so the stun boxes are usually just The Right size, a cow weighs about a ton. When we first calf, he was only about a quarter of the way up The Box , if the. We put all five calves at a time. Then we killed you.

Then, looking at The Dead animals on The Floor , the butcher, were visibly excited.

I rarely saw her so vulnerable. Emotions in the slaughterhouse rather filled. No One spoke about their feelings; it was an overwhelming feeling that you do not show weakness in may. Plus, there were a lot of workers, which would not have been able to talk about their feelings to the rest of us, even if they'd wanted to. Many migrant workers were mainly from Eastern Europe , whose English was good enough for you to seek help if they had to fight.

many of The Men with whom I worked, were also black Work Elsewhere , they would be ready. your Job 10 or 11 hours in the slaughterhouse, before you go to another Job , and exhaustion, requested often take its toll Some developed alcohol problems, often come in to Work smelling strongly of drink. Others have been addicted to energy drinks, and More Than One had a Heart Attack . These drinks were then removed from the slaughterhouse machine, But the people would still you bring from home and drink secretly in their cars.

'I'm an animal lover,"

A butcher in Tideford Abattoir , for the BBC World Service:

"basically, I'm an animal friend. I take no joy in what we do, But if I can do it, as calmly and professionally as possible, then I think we have achieved something. Just Be professional, it to do, then switch - And Then when we're finished working, to Go Home and be a normal person. It is not for everyone. I know a couple of butchers, who would not go to the slaughter house; the thought of a little life, to accept you find it difficult, or witnesses. "

slaughterhouse

And in the night, when I close my eyes and try to sleep, I see again, hundreds of pairs of eyeballs staring at me.

long reads, mental health, meat

Source of news: bbc.com