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DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW BAN FLAWS STILL NOT CHANGED BY USDA

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DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW BAN i.e. non-ambulatory policy still not changed by
USDA most high risk cattle for BSE Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy


USDA isn't on board with beef industry's downer cow ban

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10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

By BEN GOAD Washington Bureau

Special Section: Chino Beef Recall

WASHINGTON - A week after the meat industry called for a ban on downer cows
in the nation's food supply, the U.S. Agriculture Department has not agreed
to change a policy that allows some sick or injured cows to end up on dinner
tables.

Downers -- animals too sick or hurt to stand for slaughter -- are generally
prohibited from the food supply, but current rules allow for exceptions.
Meat producers fought to preserve those exceptions until last week, when a
coalition of major industry groups reversed their position and joined animal
advocates and several lawmakers in calling for an absolute ban.

But Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, who defended the current policy during
congressional hearings into the Chino meat recall, has remained silent.

"He's serious about addressing the issue," Agriculture Department spokesman
Chris Connelly said Monday. "There's no position being taken right now."

Schafer is mulling a ban as he awaits the results of a federal investigation
and audit now being conducted by the Agriculture Department's Office of
Inspector General, Connelly said.

Connelly said Schafer is not privy to ongoing developments in the two
probes, which are expected to last for months more.

He said a decision on moving forward with a ban could come before they
conclude, though he could provide no timeline.

Industry officials said delays are to be expected with any federal rule
change and said they've called upon the nation's meat plants to implement a
voluntary moratorium on slaughtering downers until a new policy can be
enacted.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, called
the moratorium insufficient and said there is no guarantee that the
department will act at all, even with broad support for a halt to the
practice. Pacelle said the Agriculture Department should implement an
emergency rule to impose a ban at once.

"The USDA should take immediate action to adopt it," Pacelle said. "Downer
cows are now regularly getting into the food supply."

Downers are considered more likely to have mad cow disease and other
illnesses, and therefore pose a greater threat to people who eat them. The
Agriculture Department first began outlawing downer cows from food destined
for human consumption in 2004, after a cow in Washington State tested
positive for mad cow disease.

But cows that pass an initial inspection before they go down may still be
killed and sold for food if they are approved for slaughter by a veterinary
inspector.

The Humane Society and other groups described the exception as a loophole
that meat producers can exploit to boost their profit, though it is unclear
how many downers are slaughtered each year.

In February, the Humane Society released video footage captured by an
undercover investigator at Chino's Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. showing
workers beating, dragging and otherwise mistreating downer cows at the
plant. Federal officials also determined that the video contained evidence
that downers were being slaughtered for food without the required approval
from a veterinary inspector.

That violation sparked the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from the
plant -- the largest recall of its kind in U.S. history.

Bills In Congress

Federal meat inspection practices have since come under fire, particularly
in Washington where lawmakers have held a dozen congressional hearings,
often focusing on the allowance of downers in the food supply.

Beyond the investigation of what happened at Westland/Hallmark -- which
could have criminal repercussions -- the Office of Inspector General is
conducting a separate audit of meat plants to determine whether the Chino
case was isolated or part of larger national problem.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.,
have introduced bills, in the Senate and House respectively, that would
create a strict downer ban.

But Schafer and industry officials resisted, testifying that the rules in
place, if followed, are sufficient to protect public health.

Then last week the industry agreed to a downer ban, pointing to concerns
over consumer confidence and strained international trade relations.

The American Meat Institute, The National Meat Association and The National
Milk Producers Federation, which together represent most of the nation's
meat producers, filed a petition seeking an absolute ban prohibiting any
downers from entering the food supply.

Animal-rights groups, lawmakers and California meat producers all hailed the
move.

But the Agriculture Department has not responded to the petition, American
Meat Institute general counsel Mark Dopp said Tuesday. He described the
proposed ban as a straightforward rule change and said he hopes the
department would act soon, but cautioned that the formal process can be time
consuming.

"The fact that everybody agrees it ought to be done doesn't mean they gave
the authority to skip a few steps in the process," Dopp said.

Meat industry officials discussed the ban with individual meat plant owners
before changing their position and found that most plants had already
stopped slaughtering downers, Dopp said.

Institute spokeswoman Janet Riley said information about the petition and
proposed moratorium was sent to roughly 5,000 members and industry
officials. News of the proposal was also carried by industry trade
publications, she said.

Riley and Dopp could provide no evidence that the moratorium is being
observed, though they said they believe it is.

Pacelle said he is less confident, emphasizing that only a concrete
regulation would ensure that downer cows would be kept out of the food
supply.

Representatives from Feinstein's and DeLauro's Washington offices said they
will continue to push their legislation to force a ban if the Agriculture
Department fails to act.

Reach Ben Goad at 202-661-8422 or [email protected]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/politics/stories/PE_News_Local_D_downer30.3c23b75.html


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Thursday, May 1, 2008

DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW BAN i.e. non-ambulatory policy still not changed by
USDA May 1, 2008

http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/05/dead-stock-downer-cow-ban-ie-non.html

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