US Government Joins US$150 Million Legal Action against Hallmark and Westland Meat Packing Companies.

May 4 - The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it is to join a legal battle to sue Hallmark Meat Packing Company and Westland Meat Company over alleged fraudulent claims the firms made about the way they treated their cattle before slaughter.

The DOJ said it had "intervened" in a US$150 million civil lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which claims the two companies defrauded the US federal government by violating the terms of its school lunch program contracts requiring the humane handling of animals.

The lawsuit was filed following HSUS video footage showing mistreatment of downed cattle at a California …