When BSE first cropped up in the
U.S., and everybody and their brother was coming up with new
regulations, the American Meat Institute (AMI) and other
industry organizations argued against a wholesale prohibition of
non-ambulatory “Downer” cattle being used for food.
A few years later—this Spring—AMI, the National Meat Association
and the National Milk Producers Federation, filed a Citizen
Petition with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food
Safety and Inspection Service requesting that the agency amend
the rules so that non-ambulatory, disabled cattle are not
permitted into the meat supply in any circumstance.
Specifically, the petition
requested an amendment to existing rules to eliminate the
provision enabling a public health veterinarian to allow, in
limited circumstances, cattle that become non-ambulatory after
passing ante-mortem inspection to enter the food supply.
“It makes good sense that the
provision that allows non-ambulatory cattle to be re-inspected
for slaughter be rescinded,” said AMI President and CEO J.
Patrick Boyle. “Allowing the current rule to remain in force
could ultimately undermine the confidence of U.S. consumers and
foreign customers, in markets that are proving difficult to
reopen in the first place.”
Boyle was referring to the
historic recall of frozen ground beef—some 143 million
pounds—which came into question because of animal abuse
violations documented with video at Hallmark/Westland Meat
Packing Company (HWMP) in Chino, CA by a plant employee working
at the behest of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
“To maintain consumer confidence
in the food supply, eliminate further misunderstanding of the
rule and, ultimately, to make a positive impact on the humane
handling of cattle, I believe it is sound policy to simplify
this matter by initiating a complete ban on the slaughter of
downer cattle that go down after initial inspection,” said
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, in response to the
aforementioned petition.
Schafer announced May 20 that
USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) would draft a
proposed rule to remove the exception that allows certain
injured cattle to proceed to slaughter. According to USDA, of
nearly 34 million cattle slaughtered last year, fewer than 1,000
head that were re-inspected were approved by the veterinarian
for slaughter.
Unfortunately, the track record
for animal abuse violations is worse. Kenneth Petersen,
assistant administrator, Office of Field Operations for the Food
Safety Inspection Service, explained in January there are about
7,800 USDA personnel providing inspections at about 6,200
federally inspected establishments—about 600 of those beef
harvest facilities. Petersen explained operations at 12
slaughter facilities under USDA inspection were suspended last
year for egregious humane handling violations that were
witnessed by inspection personnel. Additionally, USDA inspectors
documented 650 other inhumane practices.
Fast-forward to May and HSUS had
more video, this time of downer cattle unloaded and neglected in
the parking lots of auction facilities in four different states.
“The dairy cattle shown in the
video were non-ambulatory and were abandoned in parking lots of
these auctions and yards. These animals were not in slaughter
facilities. However, even though this is not a food safety
issue, these actions of animal cruelty are not acceptable,” said
Schafer. “In my conversation with the Humane Society last week,
I expressed my sincere desire to work with them to resolve these
atrocities, and I trust USDA was given all the information HSUS
has on this issue so we can thoroughly address it. It is
essential that we work together in good faith to address these
issues, and ensure that animals are treated with care and
dignity.”
Schafer had good reason to add
that bit about trust. In the HMWP case, though HSUS had the
video last fall, it wasn’t shared with USDA until January of
this year.
“Had we known at the time the
alleged violations occurred, we would have initiated our
investigation sooner, and taken appropriate actions at that
time,” explained Schafer in February.
Unsurprisingly, producers and
beef industry organizations echoed their outrage at the abuses
depicted in the videos. Though it was dairy cattle depicted in
the videos, beef cattle organizations were as quick as any to
reiterate the specifics associated with handling non-ambulatory
cattle.
Producers can only do so much,
though. In each example shown in the videos it can be strongly
argued the cattle were in a condition suggesting they were in no
shape to be loaded on a truck to begin with. Someone did,
though. Someone hauled them and unloaded them, too. Where is
their culpability in the matter?
Likewise, here was HSUS
withholding evidence of animal abuse for months. Here they were
sanctioning someone to lie to HMWP in order to videotape what
they saw. Surely, the organization and its puppet share
responsibility.
USDA policies and personnel have
to shoulder the blame, too. If the policies and personnel were
effective, how could HWMP happen, let alone the other
abuse-based plant suspensions?
Then there are the meat companies
and organizations defending meat from non-ambulatory cattle safe
one day, decrying it the next in the name of public confidence,
all the while steadfastly rejecting the notion that they should
shoulder any additional cost via increased inspection fees.
Yes, this is over-simplified. The
point is that right is right, not a choice of convenience. By
and large, beef producers get that and live it every day. The
challenge is for producers to demand more accountability from
the private industries and public agencies serving them. |
