Support the Akaka Downed Animal Amendment! Senator Daniel Akaka's downed animal amendment to the
Agriculture Appropriations bill will prohibit USDA inspectors at slaughter facilities from approving
meat from non-ambulatory livestock for human consumption. The amendment is similar to the Downed
Animal Protection Act (S. 1298 / H.R.
2519), introduced by Senator Akaka and Representative Gary Ackerman. Both the amendment and the bill
would encourage those handling livestock to treat them with greater care to prevent them from
getting sick or injured, and will result in more humane handling of livestock that do become
non-ambulatory. In the 107th Congress, the Senate and the House each approved provisions, as
part of their farm bills, requiring humane euthanasia of downed animals at stockyards, auction
houses and other intermediate markets, but this language was removed during the farm bill
conference.
. Downed animals suffer terribly. 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. Downed animals 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
of bacterial contamination, and is at a high risk for other diseases. A 2001 study in Germany
found that downed cows were 10 to 240 times more likely to test positive for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE or
"mad cow" disease). The "mad cow" recently found in Canada was a downed animal, prompting the
President of the Alberta Beef Producers to remark, "Cows too sick to walk, too sick to stand, have
no business being part of the food system. This animal should never have left the farm." In January,
USDA concluded that if BSE does occur in the U.S., it will most likely first be found among downed
cattle. According to USDA, downed animals "represent a significant pathway for spread of disease if
they are not handled or disposed of with appropriate safeguards."
. A high proportion of downed animals are approved for human consumption under current USDA
practice. USDA records from 1999-2001 indicated that 73% of downed animals passed inspection
for human consumption, while just 27% were condemned. USDA records further show that, of those
approved, many had gangrene, malignant cancer, pneumonia, or other serious illnesses. Data
presented at a recent Livestock Conservation Insitute meeting showed that 14% of downed cows
are Salmonella positive at time of slaughter, including one cow in the study that tested
positive for Salmonella septicemia - a fatal affliction that kills about 1,000 Americans each
year. That cow passed inspection and entered the food supply.
. Only a small fraction of downed animals processed for human food are tested for mad cow
disease. Approximately 195,000 downed livestock are processed every year in the U.S.,
according to USDA. But the General Accounting Office reported in 2002 that only 48,000 downed
animals had been tested for mad cow disease over the past 13 years combined, and USDA
acknowledged in January that only 19,990 cattle samples were tested for mad cow disease in FY
2002 (the year with the most such tests). USDA also noted that "downer cattle infected with
BSE often cannot be found by looking for the typical clinical signs associated with BSE,
because the signs of BSE often cannot be differentiated from the signs of the many other
diseases and conditions affecting downer cattle. Thus, if BSE were present in the United
States, downer cattle infected with BSE could potentially be offered for slaughter and, if the
clinical signs of the disease were not detected, pass antemortem inspection. These cattle
could then be slaughtered for human or animal food." Dr. Stanley Prusiner, who won the Nobel
Prize for his discovery of BSE prions and is considered a foremost expert on mad cow disease,
described the number of BSE tests conducted by USDA as "appalling."
. It's reasonable to expect farmers to act humanely and to protect public safety. Most
producers already try to keep their livestock from getting sick or injured, and euthanize
any that do become non-ambulatory while they are still on the farm. With proper disposal,
this is the safest course, in order to prevent spread of infectious diseases among animals
and transmission to humans through the food supply. USDA estimates that less than 1% of all
cows processed annually are non-ambulatory. This legislation would most affect the small
number of producers who are unduly subjecting downed animals to suffering and human
consumers to health risks.
. Testing for mad cow disease is best done at the farm, not the slaughter plant. In a
USDA-commissioned study published in 2001, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis emphasized
that the key to keeping our meat supply BSE-free is dramatically increasing testing of animals
that die on the farm, not at the point of slaughter. In fact, USDA already has a program set
up to test sick animals at farms, but the program has been neglected. Some have argued that
the downed animal legislation would inhibit testing for mad cow disease by inciting farmers to
"bury the evidence" on their farms. But farmers have the most to lose by exposing their own
herds to continuing risk of BSE contamination in the soil, and to having a mad cow outbreak
shake public confidence in the U.S. food supply. Besides, this is just one small part of a
much bigger issue - more than 1 million cows die or are killed each year before being sent to
slaughter. How to dispose of this "dead stock" in the most safe and economical way is an issue
that USDA is grappling with, as reflected in a Federal Register notice published on January
21, 2003. While that broader question is being resolved, it makes no sense to continue feeding
downed animals to American consumers in order to preserve a system that tests a tiny fraction
of them for BSE at slaughter facilities.
. Americans do not want to eat meat from downed animals. In September 2003, a Zogby poll
revealed that 77% of likely U.S. voters oppose the use of downed animals for human food, and
81% are concerned that sending downed animals to slaughterhouses could put human consumers at
risk for mad cow disease. Reflecting this public concern, restaurants including McDonald's,
Wendy's, and Burger King have pledged not to use meat from downed animals. The largest
livestock markets in the nation, including Empire Livestock in New York and Central Livestock
that serves the entire Midwest, have endorsed the removal of downed animals from human food,
citing animal welfare and food safety concerns.
. USDA instituted a policy in 2000 ending the purchase of beef from downed animals for the
National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. This policy was triggered by USDA's recognition
that downed animals pose an unacceptable food safety threat. While it's clear that
schoolchildren deserve protection from unsafe food, so do all other consumers.
For the sake of the animals and public health it's time for Congress to ensure that meat from downed
animals can no longer end up on someone's dinner table! Please support the Akaka amendment to
Agriculture Appropriations.