Beef And Dairy Network - Episode 8 - Eli Roberts Investigation

Episode Date: February 21, 2016

Ed Gamble and Mike Bubbins join in with this month’s episode in which we hear from Phillip Seastram of the Food Standards Agency and do some investigation at the home of Eli Roberts, formerly of Roberts Slaughterhouse. By Benjamin Partridge, Ed Gamble and Mike Bubbins. Music: Floating In The Midnight Breeze by FoolBoyMedia/Freesound.org Audio: Kickhat/Freesound.org, Cell31_Sound_Productions/Freesound.org, primeval_polypod/Freesound.org  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Stock media provided by Setuniman/Pond5.com and Soundrangers/Pond5.com 

The Beef and Dairy Network podcast is sponsored by Grazex, the latest grass replacement pellet from Mitchell's. If it's not Mitchell's, get back in the truck. Grazex was developed in our secret lab, which this month was named Kentucky's fifth least exploitative workplace. It's also the only feed pellet to be personally endorsed by a head of state. A big Mitchell's thank you to Anthony Carmona, President of Trinidad and Tobago. Hello and welcome to the Beef and Dairy Network podcast, the number one podcast for those involved or just interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds. The Beef and Dairy Network podcast, the number one podcast for those involved, or just interested, in the production of beef animals and dairy herds. The Beef and Dairy Network podcast is the podcast companion to the Beef and Dairy Network website and a printed magazine, brought to you by Grazex.

First up, here at the network we've always been huge fans of the Food Standards Agency. Not only do they do a great service to the health of the nation, but also the buffet at their annual Christmas party is absolutely spotless. I've been going to that party for 10 years and I've only had a dicky tummy the next day once, and I'm pretty sure that was brought on by anxiety about the cowboy builders who are making a total dog's dinner of my new patio. Usually we're delighted to hear from the Food Standards Agency, but this month we were contacted by one of their investigating officers, Philip Seastrom, who heard an interview on this podcast back in episode four, which piqued his professional interest.

In that episode, I interviewed Eli Roberts of Roberts Slaughterhouse, and it was his seeming disregard for health and safety which gave Philip cause for concern. You would reasonably expect there to be a good level of training in health and safety in an abattoir. Do you have those kind of processes in place? No need. Who's to say, who's to say, if I went to some of these fancy health and safety meetings, right? Oh, I've got my badge, I've got my badge and I'm up in safety. Oh, look at my certificate on the wall there. And you're so busy looking at my certificate on the wall there, you've fallen backwards into a bandsaw. Top yourself in half half as a result of what he heard in our interview

philip talked to his colleagues at the food standards agency and instigated a search of the premises i spoke to philip earlier this week uh hello my name is philip seastrom i'm an investigating agent at the food standards agency i started by asking philip what it was that troubled him most about what Mr Roberts had said. What really got my attention was him saying that he didn't feel that he needed to register the slaughterhouse in any way. It seemed like he was operating under the radar and that came into fruition. We decided to search the slaughterhouse on our database and it's not actually there officially registered as a slaughterhouse and we've looked into it i think what he's actually done is he's found a loophole in in the eu law where he registers it as as a theme park right and once once you found this the slaughterhouse was it very clear to you that it indeed wasn't a theme park yeah there was nothing that you would expect

from a theme park there was no there was no turnstile uh there was no um welcome map was mr roberts there mr roberts wasn't there there was a very old lady rocking back and forth just just smiling and laughing but not in a nice way like a kind of haunting tableau a haunting tableau is nail on head that's actually what i wrote in my notes the sort of thing you might get in a creepy theme park yes i suppose i but i'm not sure you would say that if i hadn't already told you that he'd registered it as a theme park i'm not sure you would go in there and think this is exactly like a theme park i think i just think that's at the forefront of your mind because we were discussing theme parks earlier and i'm also currently eating a candy floss but but that's a coincidence so what did you do next well i walked past the old lady um she or she didn't seem to register that i was

there at all to be honest i was i was quite excited at this point because this was this is my first real big case that i've cracked at the fsa i was very excited stormed past the old lady into the first shack it was it was dark but there was a uv light honest honestly i i just sorry this is very difficult this is obviously hard for you to talk about what was it about what you saw that disturbed you the most well as far as i'm aware he was having visitors come around i don't. These were people not involved in the slaughter of animals. These were people who wanted to come and watch animals die. A gladiatorial type thing. I don't know if it was perverted. I don't know if it was sexual. would fly in and they would watch there were two-way mirrors uh clearly for viewing purposes there was a gallery a viewing gallery uh and we also found webcams which suggested a global skype hookup for men or women to watch uh around the world online and pay large amounts of money to to email in and suggest things to be done to the cows doesn't bear thinking about does

it um okay well once you'd filed your report what what did the food standards agency do well straight away we suspended his license which we were going to do anyway regardless of what was happening because he'd obtained that under false pretenses so now he he can't operate a theme park and he can't operate a slaughterhouse and he can't actually operate any form of dance club either now they all come under the same umbrella i also um i was so disgusted by what i saw i actually made the quite rare decision i've never made in my career before to burn the slaughterhouse to the ground. The burning of the slaughterhouse must have been quite cathartic for you after what you'd seen?

It felt good. I was crying as I did it. So there was a certain amount of catharsis there. I was actually laughing as well. Looking back on it, I remember thinking, who's that laughing? Is it the old woman?

But it wasn't. It was me. I was questioning my own laughter. So I would say it was a cathartic experience. Was the old woman torched inside the slaughterhouse, or was she able to survive? I'm not actually sure. She certainly wasn't in her chair when the burning was taking place. So I don't know whether she was on premises or off premises and that's

actually not something that i need to take responsibility for so that so that's that then for eli roberts slaughterhouse it's been burned to the ground his license has been taken away from him yes however i have been told that it might be true that you still have reason to believe that we should be worried about eli well i mean we've actually received quite a number of reports from the public that he's up to his old tricks again. Apparently he is now taken to slaughtering cattle in his back garden. He can't let go of the slaughterhouse business. He's selling the meat, as far as I'm aware, on the meat black market.

I mean, what kind of proof do you have that he is still continuing continuing is it just anecdotal evidence or do you have any sort of hard proof we don't have any proof that we can act on at the moment i've been on google earth i'm aware of where he lives so i've been updating google earth every day in the hope that i might see him from above also the one of his neighbors reported a big moo. Right. And then it stopped. So, yeah, I mean, that could be a sort of novelty greetings card that was opened and then shut again. But tell me this, if you receive a novelty greetings card with a big moo,

you're not just opening that once, are you? No, that's a good point. That's a good point. There we go. So that's at least two big moves. And I'd hazard a guess that if I receive a novelty greetings card, I'll open that at least six or seven times. Thanks to Philip Seastrom and three cheers to everyone at the Food Standards Agency. They do a great job of keeping the public safe. And also, I went out for a drink with them last week,

and boy, did they know how to pick a rosé. a drink with them last week and boy did they know how to pick a rosé. Although we were pleased that Mr Roberts' sick slaughterhouse had been razed to the ground, we were also very concerned about the allegations that Eli Roberts is selling black market meat slaughtered in his back garden. So we decided to go and do a bit of investigation ourselves. We warn you that the following recording contains scenes of severe peril. I'm standing outside what I think is Eli Roberts. It's his home. It's quite a modest semi-detached house. Hard to believe that maybe he's slaughtering animals here for the black market. So I'm just going to knock on the door and see what he has to say for himself.

What do you want? Eli Roberts? Yes, who's asking? I'm from the Beef and Dairy Network. Oh, what are you indeed? Yeah, we... Mr Blinking Cow Fancy over there, Mr The Cow's Best Friend. Yeah, we spoke to... You scuttlest rumour monger, I call you.

We spoke to you before. Yes, I had your job, as I remember. Well, I monger i call you we spoke to you before yes i had your job as i remember well i've got some questions for you i bet you have uh how do you respond to the rumors that you've been slaughtering animals in your garden for the black market right i'll tell you how to respond right wait there i'll show you wait there a minute okay he's he's shut the front door i maybe he's going to what is that is that a gun what's it look like yes it's a gun front door. Maybe he's going to... Like this. Like this I respond, alright? Is that a gun? What's it look like? Yes, it's a gun.

Get off. Don't kill me. Go for a little drive, shall we? Please don't kill me. Go for a little drive in the countryside. I'll show you the real world works. Hey sunshine. Please don't kill me. Here we go. Please don't kill me. Get in there. Cheeky little sod. He's put me in his car. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. Gwna i ddangos i chi. cwmni Eli pan roedd yn eistedd yno ym mhrofiad ei hun yn ceisio gweld Dickerson yn y ffordd iawn ar Sirius Link ond oh na'r wythnos rydw i wedi'i gael ac mae gen i ateb i hyn o bobl fel chi mae gen i ddwy llyfrau o leiaf. Iawn, c'mon, gadewch i mi ddangos beth yw'r hyn yw'r hyn y

ydym yn ei olygu. Beth ydych yn mynd i ddangos i mi? Wel, fe ddangos rhywbeth sy'n agor eich wyneb. Gadewch i ni roi'r llyfrau yna, a w. Ni allai gwneud unrhyw beth â iechyd a diogelwch. Roi'r peth hwn i'r llaw. Iechyd a diogelwch, fy mhwt. Fy mhwt a'r llaw. Mae'r cwmni sydd â'r cyfnodau iechyd a diogelwch mwyaf yn y byd. Ac yn ddiddorol, dwi wedi'i ddod arno. Felly, nid wyf yn ceisio. Nid oes pwysig. Nid oes pwysig.

Felly, beth am lawer o ddynion ydych chi wedi'u gwneud yn eich gwrdd? Beth am lawer? Ia, sut am la's a piece of string? Where do you sell it? Well, all over the place. Down a pub, I mean. I mean, not that I do it, but if I did do it, down a pub. The Young Farmers Institute.

Is it well refrigerated when you're selling it? I give it a wash, like, you know. You can chuck a bucket of water over it, get the worst of blood off. Refrigerated. Look, if you could just tell me what you're going to do to me. I'm going to take you places, right, and show you things that will open your eyes, sunshine. Oh, Mr. Eli, hard man, murderous man, hater of animals. Well, yes, all those things are true, but I've got a softer side toid. Wel, ie, mae'r holl hynny'n wir. Ond mae gen i ddwy llwyth o ddwyll i mi.

Dwyll mwy o ymchwil, dwyll ymchwil, os ydych chi'n dda. Iawn? Iawn. Ac yna efallai y byddwch chi'n gweld bod yna ddwy llwyth arall arall, Eli. Nawr, gadawch i ffocin'r car nawr! Gadawch! Gadawch! Gadawch! Gadawch yma! Oes gennym ni'n mynd? Yn mynd i rywle i ymgymryd eich meddwl, yw'r lle rydyn ni'n mynd? rydyn ni'n mynd i rywle i ysbrydoli eich meddwl y byddwn ni'n mynd. Dyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni ddim yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni dym yn mynd i'ch llwyddo. Dydyn ni dym ni d Right, take a seat. Where are we?

Where do you think we are? I tell you what, describe to your listeners where we are. It looks like a garage. A garage? Sit down. Put your belt on. Belt? I'm sure you've got it.

Belt, look, the seatbelt over there. Right, here we go. Sit down. Put your belt on. Belt? I'm sure you got it. Belt? Look, the seatbelt by there. Right, here we go. Press that button by there. What? Press that button by there. Okay. Oh yes, it works! I knew it would work!

Ah! We laughed all night! Ah! Come on! Come on! What's it feel like? Look at the window! That's a rocket! A rocket man! What?

A lithium-powered rocket! Ah! Ah! A lifesaver! Come on! Here we go! Hang on now! Give it a couple of G's! Oh my face! Cwm ond, o, yma ni i fynd, rydw i'n mynd nawr, rydw i wedi cymryd ychydig o geiriau, o fy wyneb, o, rydw i wedi cael fy llwyth yn llwth, mae fy llwyth wedi cael ei ffwrdd.

Rydw i'n mynd i'r llwyth. O, ffyrdd, ffyrdd, ffyrdd. O, yna 10 second, cymryd y b y mewn bwsters! Here we go! O! Fflot yn y gafael hwnna! Zero G! Bydda'n low orbit!

Kilometres up! I can't believe it actually worked! Fair play am i! I've been collecting cow shit now for 30 years! Mae'r glometr yn cynyddu. Dwi'n teimlo bod hynny wedi gweithio. Mae'n ddibwys iawn. Maen nhw wedi cymryd cwch ar gyfer 30 erdyn. Mae gen i ddwy o methael yn yno. O! Mae hynny'n wych. Rwy'n teimlo fy mod yn hyfforddi.

Edrychwch ar y ffenestr yna, y porth. Welwch. Ie. Welwch y disg blwg yna. Dyma'r ddae. Dyma'r ddae, o'i wlad. O, mae'n fawr. Edrychwch ar hy disg blw. Dyma'r dde. Dyma'r dde, o'i ddau. O, mae'n fawr. Edrychwch ar hyn. Mae'n ffynhwy.

Mae'n ffynhwy. Mae'n fel bwys. Mae'n fel pebl yn y sgai fel y dywedodd Isaac Asimov. Dyna'r disg blw, y disg blw perffaith, mewn ffwyd golyg. Pam ydych chi wedi cyflwyno fi yma, Eliton? a ddod i'r ysgol i fynd yma yn Eidlund. Mae llawer o rhesymau, ond yn bennaf oherwydd roeddwn i eisiau dangos i chi beth yw'r ysgol yma. Roeddwn i wedi darllen amdano, ond pan fyddwch chi'n ei weld eich hun, mae'n gwneud i chi teimlo'n hynod o bwysig, ydy'r hyn a dwi'n ei ddweud?

Meddwl ar y cymaint o amser, edrych o gwmpas ni. Hwyr. Nid hyd yn oed dim, oherwydd dwi'n gofyn nad oedd dim yn ymlaen. Roedd rhywbeth i'w gysylltu â hynny. Nid yw unrhyw beth yn unrhyw beth heb rhywbeth. Ac os oes unrhyw beth, mae'n amlwg o unrhyw beth. Ac un diwrnod, byddwn ni i gyd yn ffad. Bydd yna miliwn a miliwn o flynyddoedd yn y dyfodol, pan fydd yr holl egni yn y brifysgol wedi'i ddefnyddio.

Bydd y tîm yn droi. A byddwn ni'n plwymo at a'r tynnau fydd yn droi ac rydyn ni'n ei ddodd ymlaen at 0, 0 celsiwn, 0 celsiwn, a byddwch chi'n sylweddoli nad ydym ni hyd yn oed yn sain o sain ar bech amser, rydyn ni'n llawer llai na hynny, ychydig o fach o fach o fach o fwydaunau llawr a'ch meddwl i eich hun yn y un adeg o glaredd, y un gwych, gwydn, oeses neu meddwl. Ydy'n wir iawn, ydy'n wir iawn mor bwysig na dwi'n ei ddod yn llwythu gwych a gwych ar yr un bwrdd bwysig?

Ydy'n iawn? Ydy'n rhaid i ni dr bwyd bwyd yn y bwyd bwyd ar yr un bwrdd bwydyn ni. Pa fyddwn i i ddifriwch eich coli o fywyd? Salmonella! Mae'r Salmonella bach yn edrych ar ei mam a'i dad un diwrnod, ac mae'n rhaid iddo fynd i'r dynedd hwyr hwn a'i llwyddo ei potensial ei hun. Dwi'n gwybod. Y Salmonella bach, y coli bach, yn gwneud ei gwaith. Mae'n ceisio gwneud y gud y gorau i'r rest o ni. O, nid ydych chi'n gweld? Nid ydych chi'n gweld ein bod ni i gyd yn gysylltiedig?

O'r atomau yn y meir, y bot sy'n cael ei ffynnu i'r bren y gwyllt, i'r atomau yn y meir ychydig o e-coli sy'n rhoi'r llyfn i chi. I'r atomau o fewn y meddyliau burwcrwytiaid, yn sefydlu yng Nghymru gyda'u llyfrau o baper. I'r atomau o fewn yr oleol, yn ceisio ei wneud ei gwaith. Yn edrych ar gyfer pawb, yn ceisio rhoi llaw i ddynion o'r bywyd hwn. Cwm, gwych, pheg, yr hyn yr hoffech chi ei fod yn ei wneud. Roeddwn i wedi gwneud ychydig o bethau, ond roedd angen y cyllid.

Yn dweud y cwm, mae'n hawdd i'w ddysgu hefyd. a hedgehog sign easy to dispatch a hedgehog as well I mean there's no messing around with a hedgehog you just sweetly cut into one of those little balls and throw them as hard as you can at a pebble dashed wall and if you think about it it's quite a nice way to go I mean

and that final moment of existence when the universe itself winks out of existence then you won't care if you're baking it And that final moment of existence, when the universe itself winks out of existence, then you won't care if you're baking it. Be prepared in a back garden. It'll make a blind bit of difference. If it's being picked up off the floor or licked by a dog,

it's all part of the rich tapestry of the universe. Um, Eli? Yes? How are we going to get down? Oh Christ. Thanks to Ed Gamble and Mike Bubbins. Also thanks to everyone who's left a review on iTunes. If you like the podcast, tell a friend.