interview with matt rice
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1.) What is a typical day at work for you like?
As the director of investigations for Mercy For Animals (MFA), I work closely with undercover investigators to obtain video footage and other evidence of animal abuse at factory farms, hatcheries, and slaughterhouses. I also work with attorneys,
veterinarians, and animal welfare experts to review covert footage and draft criminal complaints, and with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to secure animal cruelty convictions against individuals and facilities that abuse animals.
2.) What major companies have you investigated for animal misconduct? (including: abuse, testing and other inhumane treatment.)
MFA has conducted investigations at factory farms that supply meat, dairy and eggs to some of the top retailers in the country, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Walmart, Costco and more. For example, in 2011 we did an investigation at Sparboe Farms – an egg supplier to McDonald's, Target, Sam's Club, Supervalu, and Hy-Vee – that uncovered some of the most horrific animal abuse I have ever seen. The investigation prompted these companies to
immediately stop sourcing eggs from Sparboe Farms.
3.) What precautions do you take when you investigate animal misconduct?
MFA investigators go through a thorough training process, sort of like boot camp, to prepare themselves for the physically and emotionally demanding job of working undercover at a factory farm. They are also informed of all the relevant local and federal laws both so they know what to look for in terms of criminal animal abuse, but also to make sure they can be sure to carefully follow all laws during the investigation. While undercover, investigators check in with me every day and give a thorough report. This is not only important for the case, but also to help ensure their safety.
4.) Explain an experience in one of your undercover investigations?
During an investigation at Iowa Select Farms, a pig factory farm that supplies pork to Walmart, our investigator saw workers callously throwing baby piglets through the air to each other. Most of the time the workers would catch the piglets, but sometimes they would drop them and the piglets would get hurt. The investigator told her supervisor about it and said she was worried that the piglets would get hurt. The supervisor told her not to worry about it because “pigs are bouncy.” She described throwing baby animals through the air as being like a roller coaster ride for them. Unfortunately, this type of blatant disregard for the welfare of animals is common at the facilities we investigate.
5.) How often do you go undercover and investigate farms?
Mercy For Animals has conducted 27 investigations in states across the country in the last 10 years.
6.) Who gives you your investigation leads?
All of our investigations are conducted at random. Our investigators simply apply for jobs at factory farms and slaughterhouses and then go to work at the first place that hires them. Sadly, the fact that we have documented horrific animal abuse at every facility we have investigated leads us to believe that animal abuse runs rampant in the animal agriculture industry.
7.) When you go to investigate do you go alone or with others?
Sorry, the specific methods by which we conduct investigations are confidential.
8.) Are you a vegetarian or vegan, if so why?
I decided to stop eating meat, dairy and eggs about 12 years ago when I saw for the first time how animals on factory farms are treated. These animals are routinely crammed in cages so small they can barely move, have parts of their bodies cut off without painkillers, and are violently killed while they are still very young. I would never let someone treat my dog like that, so why would I continue to pay people abuse and kill cows, pigs and chickens for me to eat when there were plenty of healthy and delicious plant-based food options available?
9.) What rights do you believe animals deserve?
Animals deserve to live free from human cruelty and exploitation. But I tend to think of these things in terms of human responsibilities rather than as animal rights. It is our responsibility as intelligent and moral people to not cause unnecessary harm. I think most people agree that we should live by some form of the “Golden Rule” – to treat others the way we would want to be treated, or at least to not treat others in ways we wouldn’t want to be treated. If we don’t need to hurt and kill animals to survive, then we have a moral responsibility to avoid doing so.
10.) What responsibilities do you believe humans have when it comes to animal rights?
See above.
11.) Do animals have responsibilities, if so what?
Of course, humans are animals. So if humans have moral responsibilities, it makes sense to ask if other animals also have moral responsibilities. I think that responsibilities are linked to ability. For example, we would not make a 3 year-old child responsible for babysitting her baby brother because we know that a 3 year-old is not capable of handling that kind of responsibility. But we could certainly expect a 16 year old to be able to babysit because we know she is more capable of handling that responsibility. I think a similar argument can be made when discussing the responsibilities of humans and nonhuman animals. As humans, we often pride ourselves on being an exceptionally intelligent species. And we are a very intelligent species. For starters, we are capable of understanding the consequences of our actions. We know that if we kick a puppy that the puppy will feel pain. Knowing that the pain of being kicked is something we would prefer to avoid, we now have a responsibility to avoid needlessly kicking others. In other words, because we are capable of understanding the consequences of our actions, we are responsible for ensuring that our actions don’t cause unnecessary harm. Are other animals capable of understanding the consequences of their actions? Certainly they are, but I think it is to a much more limited extent. While there is no question that other animals are capable of suffering (i.e. puppies feel pain when they are kicked), they are less capable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions and therefore should not be held to the same level of responsibility as we are.
As the director of investigations for Mercy For Animals (MFA), I work closely with undercover investigators to obtain video footage and other evidence of animal abuse at factory farms, hatcheries, and slaughterhouses. I also work with attorneys,
veterinarians, and animal welfare experts to review covert footage and draft criminal complaints, and with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to secure animal cruelty convictions against individuals and facilities that abuse animals.
2.) What major companies have you investigated for animal misconduct? (including: abuse, testing and other inhumane treatment.)
MFA has conducted investigations at factory farms that supply meat, dairy and eggs to some of the top retailers in the country, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Walmart, Costco and more. For example, in 2011 we did an investigation at Sparboe Farms – an egg supplier to McDonald's, Target, Sam's Club, Supervalu, and Hy-Vee – that uncovered some of the most horrific animal abuse I have ever seen. The investigation prompted these companies to
immediately stop sourcing eggs from Sparboe Farms.
3.) What precautions do you take when you investigate animal misconduct?
MFA investigators go through a thorough training process, sort of like boot camp, to prepare themselves for the physically and emotionally demanding job of working undercover at a factory farm. They are also informed of all the relevant local and federal laws both so they know what to look for in terms of criminal animal abuse, but also to make sure they can be sure to carefully follow all laws during the investigation. While undercover, investigators check in with me every day and give a thorough report. This is not only important for the case, but also to help ensure their safety.
4.) Explain an experience in one of your undercover investigations?
During an investigation at Iowa Select Farms, a pig factory farm that supplies pork to Walmart, our investigator saw workers callously throwing baby piglets through the air to each other. Most of the time the workers would catch the piglets, but sometimes they would drop them and the piglets would get hurt. The investigator told her supervisor about it and said she was worried that the piglets would get hurt. The supervisor told her not to worry about it because “pigs are bouncy.” She described throwing baby animals through the air as being like a roller coaster ride for them. Unfortunately, this type of blatant disregard for the welfare of animals is common at the facilities we investigate.
5.) How often do you go undercover and investigate farms?
Mercy For Animals has conducted 27 investigations in states across the country in the last 10 years.
6.) Who gives you your investigation leads?
All of our investigations are conducted at random. Our investigators simply apply for jobs at factory farms and slaughterhouses and then go to work at the first place that hires them. Sadly, the fact that we have documented horrific animal abuse at every facility we have investigated leads us to believe that animal abuse runs rampant in the animal agriculture industry.
7.) When you go to investigate do you go alone or with others?
Sorry, the specific methods by which we conduct investigations are confidential.
8.) Are you a vegetarian or vegan, if so why?
I decided to stop eating meat, dairy and eggs about 12 years ago when I saw for the first time how animals on factory farms are treated. These animals are routinely crammed in cages so small they can barely move, have parts of their bodies cut off without painkillers, and are violently killed while they are still very young. I would never let someone treat my dog like that, so why would I continue to pay people abuse and kill cows, pigs and chickens for me to eat when there were plenty of healthy and delicious plant-based food options available?
9.) What rights do you believe animals deserve?
Animals deserve to live free from human cruelty and exploitation. But I tend to think of these things in terms of human responsibilities rather than as animal rights. It is our responsibility as intelligent and moral people to not cause unnecessary harm. I think most people agree that we should live by some form of the “Golden Rule” – to treat others the way we would want to be treated, or at least to not treat others in ways we wouldn’t want to be treated. If we don’t need to hurt and kill animals to survive, then we have a moral responsibility to avoid doing so.
10.) What responsibilities do you believe humans have when it comes to animal rights?
See above.
11.) Do animals have responsibilities, if so what?
Of course, humans are animals. So if humans have moral responsibilities, it makes sense to ask if other animals also have moral responsibilities. I think that responsibilities are linked to ability. For example, we would not make a 3 year-old child responsible for babysitting her baby brother because we know that a 3 year-old is not capable of handling that kind of responsibility. But we could certainly expect a 16 year old to be able to babysit because we know she is more capable of handling that responsibility. I think a similar argument can be made when discussing the responsibilities of humans and nonhuman animals. As humans, we often pride ourselves on being an exceptionally intelligent species. And we are a very intelligent species. For starters, we are capable of understanding the consequences of our actions. We know that if we kick a puppy that the puppy will feel pain. Knowing that the pain of being kicked is something we would prefer to avoid, we now have a responsibility to avoid needlessly kicking others. In other words, because we are capable of understanding the consequences of our actions, we are responsible for ensuring that our actions don’t cause unnecessary harm. Are other animals capable of understanding the consequences of their actions? Certainly they are, but I think it is to a much more limited extent. While there is no question that other animals are capable of suffering (i.e. puppies feel pain when they are kicked), they are less capable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions and therefore should not be held to the same level of responsibility as we are.