Archives

UPDATE (6:00 p.m., February 4) –  Matthew McConaughey’s spokesperson says that he sold his interest in the ranch in 2011, in spite of the fact that LP Ranch’s website described him as a “co-owner” and “staff” member as of February 4th, 2015. His photo was removed from the website on the day the news broke in the mainstream media. Stories about the controversy have been published in The Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Mail and many other media outlets.

—————————————–

Actor Matthew McConaughey, a former spokesman for the “Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner” ad campaign, co-owns a ranch that sells canned hunts. According to his company’s website, “We at LP Ranch pride ourselves with our whitetail deer hunts.”

With his brother Mike, actor Matthew McConaughey owns a cattle ranch that sells canned hunts.

McConaughey purchased the LP Ranch in 2001. Six years later, the ranch “decided it was time to expand” by selling canned hunts. For visitors spending the night, the ranch offers “Old West” accommodations with a “modern touch” so that “after the hunt, our guests can feel assured to eat some great meals and relax in all out comfort” (unlike the animals who they killed for fun that day).

“Relax in all out comfort” after shooting deer at Matthew McConaughey’s Ranch

LP Ranch also sells horses who are “ready for any ranching task that may be asked of them” and cattle who they “treat in a way that will allow them to be ready for any conditions.” According to his nephew Madison who is LP’s “Cattle Manager,” McConaughey is a “big beef man” who “feels it’s important to raise Angus cattle and support the beef industry.” In fact, McConaughey was a beef industry spokesman  in 2010:

Canned hunts are among the cruelest forms of hunting. Not only is the other “team” unarmed and unaware that they are being targeted, but they are also confined to a fenced in area with no possible way to escape. In 2011, HSUS conducted an undercover investigation of canned hunting operations to educate the public about this outrageous “sport.”

Owners of a California slaughterhouse that distributed beef from cows with cancer were charged in federal court on August 18th. In court filings, the USDA said that owners of Rancho Feeding Corp. “schemed with employees to slaughter about 79 cows with skin cancer of the eye while federal inspectors took lunch breaks” and that “plant workers swapped the heads of diseased cattle with heads of healthy cows to hide them from inspectors.” The discovery of the diseased carcasses triggered several recalls, including 8.7 million pounds of beef sold at Walmart and other national chains. The slaughterhouse owners and two employees were charged with distribution of “adulterated, misbranded and uninspected meat.”

Photo: REUTERS/Alex Gallardo

If the abuse inherent in modern-day factory farming doesn’t stop people from eating animals, then perhaps the health risks will. Here’s our challenge: People have been eating animals for centuries and surviving, so why would they stop now — at a time when they assume that the government is keeping our food supply safe? When talking to omnivores, I point out that mad cow, bird flu and swine flu originated in the factory farms that produce 99% of the animal products we eat. Now I can say that cows with cancer are in the food supply. And then there are the antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, cholesterol and saturated fat that fill the meat, fish and dairy products we consume. So, if humane issues don’t resonate, then talk about the many reasons why animal products are simply unsafe and unhealthy to eat.