Animal rights group claims ‘illegal slaughterhouses’ operating in SWFL

Reporter: Lauren Sweeney
Published: Updated:
Still image captured from video released by Animal Rights Mission alleging abuse by farms in Southwest Florida.

An animal rights activist group released videos Thursday of what they claim is the worst case of alleged animal abuse in the United States.

Animal Recovery Mission, or ARM, held a press conference regarding their undercover investigations into several farms in Lee County.

WINK News chose not to show the graphic videos, or identify where they were shot because no one has been charged with a crime.

“They are butchering animals alive, they are skinning them alive, they are drowning them in boiling water,” said Richard Cuoto, the founder and lead investigator of the Miami-based group.

Cuoto had harsh words for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the 20th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s office for failing to prosecute the individuals in the undercover videos.

He said ARM has been providing their evidence of abuse to law enforcement for several years. The group has worked with other agencies around the state to close illegal slaughterhouses and bring animals to their sanctuary.

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