By Erica Shaffer
WASHINGTON – A petition seeking changes to federal livestock slaughter rules would actually jeopardize humane handling of livestock and animal welfare at meat processing plants, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) said in response to the petition.
A coalition of animal welfare groups on Sept. 2 petitioned the US Dept. of Agriculture to change policies under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) and Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). The coalition includes the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Compassion Over Killing, Farm Forward, Farm Sanctuary, Mercy for Animals and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The coalition claims the Food Safety and Inspection Service is not meeting its statutory obligations under HMSA. The group based its claims on undercover investigations conducted by animal welfare groups and “every government report that has examined the issue,” the petition states.
To address “lackadaisical” enforcement of humane slaughter rules, the coalition is seeking five revisions to the Code of Federal Regulations.
One proposed change calls for mandatory enforcement standards for Noncompliance Records (NR) and suspensions. For example, multiple stuns would always result in at least a plant suspension.
But NAMI argued that adopting the rule changes requested by the coalition would limit the ability of plants to take action when needed.
“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wisely has permitted plants that acknowledge in advance through written plans that some animals, like large bulls or mature dairy cows, may be difficult to stun with a single blow as the law’s language requires,” Mark Dopp, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and NAMI general counsel, said in a statement. “FSIS’ approach also recognizes that livestock don’t always stand perfectly still and human beings charged with stunning and handling can’t executive every movement perfectly 100 percent of the time.
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Source: Meat + Poultry
