Tommaso Ausili - Italy - The Hidden Death 

© Tommaso Ausili courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2010
35412-145750

Sheep in the "transit stall" before processing.

Comment from Tommaso Ausili
“To reach the top of the food chain is a long process that begins with an end – the end of an animal’s life. Between a living animal and any piece of meat, whether nicely packaged or displayed behind a glass counter, is the abattoir.
This sort of “disassembly line” is hidden away in anonymous buildings surrounded by high fences, usually far from the city centre and amazingly silent from the outside. Out of sight, skilled workers accompany the animals towards the last moments of their life, following cold, surgical procedures.
In the corridor of death, walking the last steps that lead into the so-called “trap”, the animals seem to be aware of their impending fate. The smell of death is in the air; the fear spreads amongst the animals waiting their turn as they see the one in front of them disappearing through an iron door. The subsequent shriek of terror and the desperate clanging of hooves are an inextinguishable sign that, even for irrational animals, once through that door no creature comes out alive.”