Current Press Releases

Q: Why Haven't We Discovered Mad Cow Disease in the U.S.?

A: We Are Eating the Evidence

U.S. House of Representatives to Discuss Slaughter of Downed Animals Today!

WASHINGTON D.C. - March 1, 2001 - Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) are planning to offer an amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week to prevent downed animals—animals too sick even to stand—from being slaughtered and used for human food.

Downed animals are widely recognized as the animals who are most likely to be infected with Mad Cow Disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). But rather than preventing these animals from entering the food supply, it is currently legal to send them to USDA slaughterhouses to be processed for human food.

Ironically, some in Washington, DC are suggesting the best way to prevent Mad Cow Disease in the United States is to send downed animals to USDA slaughterhouses—where most are processed for human food without being tested for BSE.

Gene Baur (formerly Bauston), president of Farm Sanctuary, states, "It is ludicrous to suggest that slaughtering downed animals for human food is the best way to prevent the occurrence of Mad Cow Disease in the United States. Marketing and slaughtering such severely incapacitated animals is illegal in other countries. This inhumane and irresponsible practice should be prohibited in the United States, as well."

Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, is urging support of the Ackerman-LaTourette Amendment. The organization believes that downed animals should either be provided with appropriate veterinary care, or they should be humanely euthanized.

Removing the market for downed animals will provide an incentive to improve animal care practices in order to prevent downed animals in the first place. When producers are unable to sell downed animals for human food, they have an incentive to take better care of their animals. Dr. Temple Grandin, one of the world's leading livestock industry experts, has estimated that 90% of downed animals can be prevented.

For more information, please see www.nodowners.org.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.