There have been studies done in the US that show a higher than expected rate of domestic abuse/violence in the families of abattoir workers. The studies link the type of work directly to the abuse. I guess the feelings repressed to commit all that murder (and it is murder) have to be let out somewhere.
As for getting more AR activists into position within abattoirs then, yeah, it may work if you think that a 'kinder' death is better than no death. Not me though. I fall into the abolitionist side of things and would love to see the end of animals used for food. I'll leave the wishy-washy, feel good about yourself stuff to Peta and their kind. There is no reason to eat animals which means that those who do are party to the continuing suffering of countless numbers of different species. There is no pretty way to dress it up.