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Progress in "Downer" Abuse Case -- But
More is Needed to Prevent Other Cases Like it
Dear Friend,
Two weeks ago, our
undercover investigation revealed shocking
abuses of "downed" dairy cows -- those who are
too sick or injured to walk -- at a Southern
California slaughter plant. The cows were
subjected to terrible pain and fright in
attempts to get them to stand up and walk to
their deaths.
We also discovered
that the meat from these tortured animals was
being fed to children through the National
School Lunch Program!
Please watch our investigative video, and then
take action today to stop this cruelty.
So much has
happened since we released our investigation
last Wednesday:
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The USDA shut down the Hallmark Meat Packing
Company slaughter plant last week after our
undercover investigation exposed cruelties
there.
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Millions of people have seen our undercover
video of abuse, whether on CBS Evening News,
CNN, local television broadcasts, or on
humanesociety.org.
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More than a dozen U.S. Senators and U.S.
Representatives have expressed outrage and
demanded action to prevent this kind of
abuse from happening again.
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California, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon,
Washington, and other states, responding to
letters HSUS sent to them about possible
food safety risks, stopped serving beef from
the slaughter plant we exposed even before
USDA shuttered the plant.
These responses
show that the public will not stand for such
cruelty to animals, nor for the health risks
that come with using "downed" cows for food. But
the outrage has not yet prompted a change in
federal policies related to the handling of
downer cows.
Urge the USDA to tighten its lax enforcement of
the downer rule
and to close the rule's loophole -- so that cows
who are obviously in no shape to walk are not
taken to slaughter in the first place.
Thank you for all
you do for animals.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President &
CEO
The Humane Society of the United States |
