SUPPORT THE DOWNED ANIMAL PROTECTION ACT (H.R. 2519 and S. 1298)

This common sense legislation prohibits the marketing and slaughter of downed animals: Animals too sick even to stand.

It is impossible to move downed animals humanely, and they are routinely dragged with chains or pushed with tractors or forklifts.

Downed animals are more likely to be afflicted with transmissible disease than healthy animals, and their use in the food supply threatens human health.

By prohibiting the marketing and slaughter of downed animals, the Downed Animal Protection Act provides an incentive for producers to prevent downed animals from occurring in the first place. Industry experts have estimated that 90% of downed animals can be prevented with improved care on the farm.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• The infected BSE cow discovered in 2003 in Canada was a downed animal! The USDA concluded in a recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Federal Register Vol 68, No 13, 1/21/03) that if BSE ever did occur in the U.S., it would most likely first be found among downed cattle.

• Downed animals suffer needlessly. Animals too sick or injured to stand or walk are routinely pushed, kicked, dragged, and prodded with electric shocks in an effort to move them at auction and slaughter facilities, en route to slaughter. Cows with broken legs or sickly veal calves may be left for hours or days without food, water or veterinary care as they await slaughter. There is no excuse for this unnecessary torment.

• Meat from downed animals is more likely to be unfit for consumption. It has an increased risk for bacterial contamination, and is at a high risk for other diseases, including neurological afflictions such as Mad Cow Disease. USDA records show that downed animals afflicted with gangrene, malignant lymphoma, pneumonia, or other serious illnesses have been approved for human consumption by the Agency.

• Americans do not want to eat meat from downed animals. In March 2001, a Zogby poll revealed that 4 out of 5 likely U.S. voters oppose the use of downed animals for human food. It is not surprising that most people want to know that the meat they eat is raised humanely.

• The food industry wants to assure consumers that livestock are treated humanely. The Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants have recently issued guidelines calling for slaughterhouses to improve their handling of livestock. And the largest livestock markets in the nation, including Empire Livestock in New York and Central Livestock, which serves the entire Midwest, endorse the removal of downed animals from human food. These livestock markets cite animal welfare and food safety concerns as their rationale. In 2000, USDA instituted a policy ending the purchase of beef from downed animals for the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs “in light of the feedback from the representatives of the recipient agencies” and “in response to animal welfare concerns.”

• Marketing and slaughtering downed animals is too cruel for the fast food industry. New animal welfare standards followed by McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s have ended the purchase of meat from downed animals for their food products.

• The downed animal provision discourages irresponsible producers from transporting downed animals to livestock markets. Most livestock producers do not handle downed animals; they euthanize them on the farm. In fact, USDA estimates that only 130,000 (<1%) of all the cattle processed annually are non-ambulatory. However, this small number of animals suffers greatly. The Ackerman Amendment will help end the cruel treatment of food animals.

Despite a strong consensus within the livestock industry, the animal welfare movement, consumers, and government that downed animals should not be sent to stockyards, this problem continues, causing unnecessary animal suffering and an erosion of public confidence in their food. The Downed Animal Protection Act provides an appropriate remedy to this unnecessary and inexcusable problem by requiring that critically ill and injured animals be humanely euthanized at stockyards.

For more information, please contact Farm Sanctuary
P.O. Box 150, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 — 607-583-2225
P.O. Box 1065, Orland, CA 95963 — 530-865-4617
activist@farmsanctuary.org