Humane advocates have argued for years that the slaughtering of
“downed” animals—those who are too sick or injured to walk on their own
to slaughter—should be banned. There was another five-alarm call
Wednesday, when The Humane Society of the United States released the results of an undercover investigation
revealing that slaughter plant workers routinely tormented downed dairy
cows in an attempt to get them to stand up—kicking them, jabbing them
in the eye, ramming them with the blades of a forklift, and abusing
them in other horrifying ways—and the beef from these animals is still
entering the food supply, even the National School Lunch Program.
This very issue, in fact, has been playing out at the state and
federal levels for quite some time. California several years ago passed
a law banning the slaughtering of downed animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
forbids the use of meat from non-ambulatory animals in the school lunch
program. In the summer of 2003, the House rejected—by a nail-biting vote of 199 to 202—an
amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill offered by Reps. Gary
Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) which would have
stopped the processing of all meat from downed animals. The Senate had
accepted a similar amendment by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), but it
was stripped in conference committee from the final bill.
During the House floor debate, proponents pointed to the inhumane
handling of animals and data from Europe showing that downers were 49
to 58 times most likely to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE
or “mad cow disease”). Opponents of the measure such as former Rep.
Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas)—now a lobbyist for the horse slaughter
industry—said that downed animals were treated humanely and the meat
was perfectly safe.
Just six months later, after Christmas 2003, they were forced to eat their words, when a downer cow in Washington State tested positive for BSE,
and 44 nations closed their borders to U.S. beef, costing the industry
billions of dollars. Because they had insisted on squeezing out every
last bit of profit from a suffering cow, they were penny-wise and
pound-foolish. Since that time, twelve of the fifteen cows who tested
positive for BSE infection in North America have reportedly been
downers. It’s clearer than ever that downers are more likely to be sick
or diseased, and pose a potential public health risk.
In light of this overwhelming evidence, the USDA issued a final ban
on the processing of most downers in 2007. The regulation, however, has
a gaping loophole: Cows who are able to walk when initially inspected
by USDA but then keel over and cannot stand up again can nevertheless
be slaughtered, and the meat can be sold. And USDA’s lax enforcement of
the downer regulation has made its oversight virtually meaningless.
USDA inspectors may only conduct cursory observations, coming to check
on animals just once or twice a day and disregarding their condition
for the remaining hours.
As the investigation released Wednesday demonstrates,
the current system is not enough to safeguard against extreme cruelty
to animals and potentially tainted meat being funneled to school
children. It's like saying we are going to keep all the terrorists out
of airports, but only operate the metal detectors once or twice a
day--and after a person walks through a single time they can then come
and go at their leisure.
Like any major battle in the animal protection movement, the downer
issue has been hard-fought and is still unresolved. It requires
constant vigilance for good public policies to be enacted and enforced.
The USDA needs to tighten its regulations and enforcement of the downer
ban, and needs to do a better job of protecting food safety in general.
Fortunately, the reaction to Wednesday’s investigative report has
been swift on Capitol Hill. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Majority
Whip and one of the nation’s leading advocates for food safety, has
written two letters to the USDA
asking for an immediate investigation into the safety of ground beef
being used in the National School Lunch Program. “The treatment of
animals in this video is appalling, but more than that, it raises
significant concerns about the safety of the food being served to our
nation’s children,” Durbin said. “The apparent slaughter of sick and
weak animals not only appears to violate USDA regulations, but could be
a danger to our nation's food supply."
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Chairwoman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee which oversees the funding for USDA, released a statement
calling on the agency to investigate. She said, "It appears that USDA
policies are allowing slaughtering and processing plants to use the
National School Lunch Program as a dumping ground for bad meat.
Because children are more vulnerable to becoming very ill and even
dying from eating E. coli contaminated foods, we simply cannot continue
to expose them to this risk."
Responding to the allegations of cruelty in her home state, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), has sent two letters,
one to the USDA urging swift action to close the loophole and make
other needed changes, and one to California Attorney General Jerry
Brown asking him to immediately initiate an investigation into
"possible violations of state law that could endanger public health."
She stated, "The videotape is even more concerning in light of the fact
that meat processed from this facility is being used in school lunch
programs and in programs for needy families and the elderly. Infants,
children and the elderly are more likely to experience severe illness
and hospitalization from E. coli and Salmonella than the rest of the
population."
Rep. Ackerman has called on the USDA
to investigate all beef slaughter plants to ensure that they are not
slaughtering downed animals, and is calling on his colleagues to
finally pass the Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act.
The bill will close the loopholes in the current agency rule and will
protect all downed animals, not just cattle, from cruel and abusive
treatment. “We are outraged and disgusted over the cruel abuses
recorded at the Hallmark plant, and we fear that other beef
slaughterhouses may still be processing downer cattle into the nation’s
food supply in blatant violation of the law,” said Ackerman. “Congress
and the American people need to urgently know the extent to which
downer cattle are still being passed into America’s food chain.”
Sen. Akaka read a statement into the Congressional Record,
describing the investigative video and also calling on lawmakers to
pass the Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act. "The video
documents horrifying scenes of employees using electrical prods to
shock animals, pulling them with chains, and carelessly driving over
them with a forklift in an effort to bring sick or injured cows to
their feet. These cruel actions amount to nothing less than torture.
There was even a case of using a hose to forcibly spray water into a
cow’s nose to get it to rise to its feet to avoid the sensation of
drowning," he said. "The actions of this slaughterhouse, and possibly
countless others, in violation of established laws, have put our most
vulnerable and important assets in danger—our children."
New public policies are important as well. Reps. Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.) and Chris Shays (R-Conn.) are calling for enactment of the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act,
which would require that all producers who sell meat, dairy, and egg
products to the federal government meet a modest set of animal welfare
standards. One of the requirements is that downed animals must be given
veterinary care or humanely euthanized, rather than processed for
slaughter. Any company that sells food to the school lunch program or
other federal programs should ensure that animals get at least the most
basic elemental humane handling. DeFazio captured what many of us felt
upon seeing the graphic images: "I have been concerned about animal
welfare since first coming to Congress, and I’ve heard some pretty
gruesome tales," he said. "The video of how these animals were treated
was abhorrent and shocking and I am ashamed that this could happen here
in the United States."
We are grateful to these Congressional leaders for acting swiftly
and forcefully to speak out for the protection of animals and food
safety. Please take action today
and help make sure that the public policy debate over downers comes to
a close, and that no sick or injured animal ever again has to endure
this torture for profit.
