PETITION ANNOUNCEMENT

HELP STOP THE DOWNED ANIMAL TRADE

Farm Sanctuary has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prevent the slaughter and use of downed animals for human food. The petition asserts that using downed animals in the human food supply is a violation of federal law.

Existing USDA regulations define downed animals (those unable to stand) as 'diseased' and the law prohibits the slaughter of “diseased” animals for human food. Therefore, the petition argues that the current practice of slaughtering downed animals for human food must stop. Diseases like bovine leukemia virus (BLV), bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV), and others commonly afflict U.S. cattle. There is also evidence that cattle, pigs, and sheep in the U.S. may be afflicted with diseases like Britain's "Mad Cow Disease" (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE).

Last summer, the FDA banned certain animal by-products from being used in livestock feed because it was concerned about a potential threat of BSE in the United States. This action is a positive first step, but the petition asserts that further measures are necessary to reduce the threat of BSE in the U.S.

Please urge the Food and Drug Administration to act on docket
number 98P-0151/CP1 and make a rule which bans the slaughter of
downed animals for human food.

Write:
Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dockets Management Branch
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
FAX: 301-827-6870
E-mail: FDADockets@oc.fda.gov

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