FRESNO, Calif. — A landmark $500 million agreement has been reached to settle a slaughterhouse abuse case in California that led to the biggest meat recall in US history in 2008, an animal welfare group announced Friday.

The civil settlement with the owners of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. is the largest-ever penalty for an animal abuse case, and the first time federal fraud statutes have been used, according to the Humane Society of the United States, the lead plaintiff. The settlement is largely symbolic because the company is bankrupt.