Ag Department to eliminate exception, tightening ban on 'downer' cattle at slaughterhouses

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said yesterday that his agency will enact a regulation to ban from slaughterhouses "downer" cattle, those that cannot stand on their own. The move comes after the largest beef recall in history, prompted by activists' video "that showed California meat plant workers using forklifts and electric prods on animals unable to stand," writes Christopher Lee of The Washington Post.

"Under current regulations, cows that cannot stand or walk on their own are supposed to be kept out of the food supply, in part because they may be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease," Lee writes. "An exception allows a government veterinarian to approve for slaughter an animal that passed initial inspection but went down before reaching the "knock box," if a second inspection determines the animal is not sick but is suffering from an acute injury such as a broken leg. The USDA plans to propose a rule that would end the exception." (Read more)