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Friday, February 8, 2008

"Downers" in the food supply mean animal cruelty

An investigation by The Humane Society of the United States at a cattle slaughterhouse has documented that animals too sick or injured to stand or walk—called "downers" by industry—have been kicked, beaten, dragged with chains, shocked with electric prods, sprayed in the face with hoses and pushed by forklifts in efforts to get them to their feet to pass USDA inspection. This unacceptable cruelty potentially puts the food supply at risk—at least 12 of the 15 identified cases of mad cow disease in North America to date have reportedly been downers.

In spite of claims that downers were being eliminated from the food supply, downed animals may be falling through the cracks as a result of poor oversight, anemic enforcement, and a loophole created by inconsistent agency regulations. The result is a losing proposition for animals who are beaten, kicked and dragged to their death and consumers who unknowingly consume the meat from sick and injured animals.

TAKE ACTION
Demand that the USDA eliminate this dangerous loophole and immediately put in place a "bright line" ban on all downers.

I just took action online asking the USDA to clean up cruel slaughterhouses by banning "downers," or animals who can't walk, from the food supply.

The current lax enforcement and loophole-ridden government
policy allow hideous abuses to occur, causing excessive
suffering and endangering our food supply. Please join me in asking the USDA to crack down on downers.

It will only take a minute. Here is the link:

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/CA_2008_investigation?rk=Odw6qkKqQcklW



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  • 14 comments:

    Ferndoggle said...

    This makes Mom crazy. She sent a letter out this week about it.

    Lola

    Jan said...

    We're glad you posted on this subject. The folks responsible should be prosecuted! What a terrible way to treat any of God's creatures.

    jans funny farm

    PKPWV said...

    That makes my mom mad too!! That's why she doesn't eat meat any more!!

    Velcro

    Robin Plan said...

    Chris I've seen this on the news and was sickened and heart broken.
    I've posted this on whole food and more and linked back here.
    Thanks for posting this. I know it's a hard subject to write about but I'm glad you did it.
    Robin

    wildcatsthree said...

    Thank you all for stopping by. It is sickening what is done to these poor defenseless creatures, and it's really scary to think that diseased animals are going into our food supply.
    Chris

    The Daily Echo said...

    Our Mom has been following this story closely. She's always amazed at what some humans are capable of. We love your blog and have added you to our list of Favorites!
    ECHO

    Jan said...

    We gave you an award. You can pick it up any time.

    jans funny farm

    Holly said...

    Another good examply of why my mom is a vegetarian.

    I tagged you for a new game! Stop over at my blog for details!

    holly

    wildcatsthree said...

    Hi Echo,
    Thanks for stopping by for a visit and for adding us to your friends list. We've added you as well.
    Chris, Abby & Rosie

    wildcatsthree said...

    Wow, another award. Thanks Jan - we'll be right over to check it out.
    Chris, Abby & Rosie

    wildcatsthree said...

    Hi Holly,
    Thanks for the tag. We'll be over to check out the details soon.
    Chris, Abby & Rosie

    happy said...

    That is so horrible. Humans can be so wicked.

    steven wilson said...

    I saw this on the local news here.It is beyond words as to what I felt watching this cruel practice.How one sleeps at night that does things like this amazes me.

    wildcatsthree said...

    Hi Happy and Steve,
    Yes, it doesn't speak well of us as a whole that there are such cruel people among us. thanks for stopping by
    chris