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New York: Act Now to Relieve the Suffering of Downed Animals!

The recent exposé of horrific abuse of downed dairy cows on their way to slaughter may have happened on the opposite side of the country, but reality is not so far away. The monumental recall of 143 million pounds of beef is a wake up call for New York State to improve its policies regarding those farm animals so ill or injured that they are no longer able to stand. On a federal level, the USDA prohibits the slaughter of some downed cattle for human food; however, significant loopholes remain in this regulation. Many downed cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and other animals can still be beaten, shocked, prodded, rammed with forklifts, or otherwise abused to force them to the killing floor, all for the sake of profit. Currently, New York State law does not protect downed animals and existing federal policy contains massive loopholes and is not well enforced.

Legislation has been introduced in New York by Senator Liz Krueger (D, 26) and Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D, 4) to provide stronger protection to New York's downed animals by stipulating the prompt euthanasia of any downed animal, including cattle, sheep and pigs. S3352/ A10564 eliminates the profit in forcing downed animals to slaughter by prohibiting the transporting, holding, buying, selling, giving, receiving or marketing of a non-ambulatory animal. In light of the largest meat recall in history, spurred by documented footage of grossly inhumane treatment of cattle who were dragged, prodded and tormented to slaughter, it is time for New York to advance this humane policy.

What You Can Do

1. Please contact the leadership in both houses and encourage them to support these bills.

   For the State Senate, please contact Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno by clicking here and urge him to support S3352, a bill to protect downed animals and consumer health.

   For the Assembly, please contact Speaker Sheldon Silver by clicking here and urge him to support A10564, a bill to protect downed animals and consumer health.

2. Please contact your state senator and assembly member and urge them to support S3352/A10564 respectively, bills to protect downed animals and consumer health. You can find your state senator by going here and typing in your zip code, and you can find your state assembly member by going here and typing in your zip code.

   Making a phone call to your legislators is fast and easy! Simply call the number for you legislators and ask to speak with the legislative staff person who handles agriculture issues. Whether you speak to the staffer directly, or leave a message, you can simply say:

   "Hi, my name is (your name). I am a constituent of the senator/assemblymember and I live at (address). I am calling to urge the <senator to support S 3352, legislation to protect downed animals and consumer health> or <assemblymember to support A10564, legislation to protect downed animals and consumer health>. Can you tell me what the senator's position is on this issue? Thank you for your time."

3. Then follow up with a quick e-mail. Feel free to include some of the talking points below.

4. Please tell us what you find out from your legislators. This information helps Farm Sanctuary know who we need to lobby harder to make positive changes for the animals. Send your report to Jasmin at jsinger@farmsanctuary.org.

Talking Points:

• To be used for human food, animals must be kept alive until they are slaughtered. For this reason, downed animals awaiting slaughter often suffer for hours or days at a time, receiving no veterinary care. Removing the profit motive to keep suffering animals alive removes the main obstacle to humane euthanasia.
• Industry experts have estimated that as many as 90% of downed animal cases could be prevented through better care and transportation and handling methods. Requiring humane euthanasia for downed animals would provide a strong incentive to ensure the health of livestock during all stages of production.
• Meat from downed animals is more likely to be unfit for consumption. It has an increased risk for bacterial contamination and diseases, including neurological afflictions such as BSE, better known as Mad Cow Disease. Out of 14 cases of BSE reported in North America, 12 were discovered in downed cattle. 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.
• 2003 Zogby Poll of likely voters found that that 77% consider it unacceptable that downed animals are being slaughtered for human consumption.
• Downers represent a tiny fraction of livestock which are brought to market, and banning the slaughter of downed animals would have minimal economic impact, especially if measures were taken to reduce the incidence of downed animals in the first place. Meanwhile, benefits to animal welfare and consumer health would be substantial.