In 2004, PETA conducted its first investigation inside a slaughterhouse owned by Sholom Rubashkin, one of the largest slaughterhouses in the country. The initial investigation at Rubashkin's Postville, Iowa, facility, AgriProcessors, revealed almost 300 instances of inhumane slaughter, including that cows had their tracheas ripped out while they were still alive, writhed in pools of their own blood, and tried desperately to stand up as blood poured from their throats. When PETA conducted an investigation into a second Rubashkin-owned slaughterhouse—a Gordon, Nebraska, facility—in May 2007, the investigator discovered that animal abuse still takes place inside Rubashkin's slaughterhouses.
Experts in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, and slaughter systems reviewed the disturbing footage recorded inside the slaughterhouse and noted the following about the abuses documented by PETA:
- Cows remained conscious for as long as two minutes after their throats were cut open.
- A worker ripped into conscious cows' throats with a metal hook in order to make the bleeding process go faster.
- Cows were handled improperly, resulting in fear and stress just prior to slaughter.
- Workers removed identification tags by mutilating live cows' ears.
Read all the expert statements. 
As noted above, this is the second time that PETA has uncovered abuse at a Rubashkin-owned slaughterhouse. The investigator's log notes from the 2004 investigation at AgriProcessors state that a “worker followed the rabbi and gouged a chunk of flesh out of the cow's neck and then pulled his trachea or esophagus … outside of his throat so that it hung down.” 
The investigator's notes went on to say, “The first time I saw a cow stagger to his feet and walk around with his trachea dangling outside of his body, I thought to myself, this can't be happening—but after several days I knew better.” Read more details about the first investigation.
After the first investigation into a Rubashkin-owned slaughterhouse, the company promised to stun any animals who remained conscious after throat-slitting. Unfortunately, the second investigation proved that Rubashkin has not lived up to this promise. Rather, Rubashkin's Nebraska slaughterhouse allowed cows to remain conscious for up to two minutes after their throats were slit, leading several experts to condemn the company's practices. Dr. Holly Cheever stated, “This method of slaughter as depicted on this tape is brutal and should be amended to provide a humane end for these animals.”
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