Federal Court Tells USDA It Cannot Help Downed Animals at Stockyards

After national network news first aired Farm Sanctuary's shocking downed animal video in 1991, the Secretary of Agriculture promised to be "more aggressive and effective in dealing with animal rights". The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) then initiated a "routine surveillance program" to visit stockyards and ascertain conditions.

During its surveillance, USDA observed downed animal abuse at various stockyards around the country, and by 1994, the Agency was in court arguing that a Tennessee stockyard should be penalized for mistreating a downed cow. That year, for the first time in history, a stockyard was fined ($750) by USDA for neglecting a downed cow.

In 1995, USDA attempted to penalize a second stockyard for discarding a downed animal. The disabled cow, who had been dumped on a dead pile behind a stockyard in Arizona, was discovered by the Arizona Lobby for Animals. Rather than paying a fine, this second stockyard fought USDA in court, arguing that USDA did not have legal authority to address the humane treatment of farm animals. The court upheld the stockyard's argument, and confirmed that no federal law protects downed animals from cruelty or neglect at stockyards.

In issueing his decision, an Administrative Law Judge stated, "there is nothing in the [Packers and Stockyards] Act which indicates that the [Packers and Stockyards] Act was designed to protect a cow... Nowhere in the [Packers and Stockyards] Act is the Secretary of Agriculture given any jurisdiction to prevent an animal's suffering, injury or death...". This decision ended the USDA's surveillance program and their efforts to prevent downed animal abuse at stockyards.