WASHINGTON – The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is
commending the U.S. Congress for several provisions in its
massive FY 2003 spending bill, particularly a measure directing
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to spend $5 million to
improve enforcement of the long-neglected federal law mandating
humane treatment of farm animals at slaughter.
The $5 million is provided in the Consolidated
Appropriations Resolution for Fiscal Year 2003 (P.L. 108-7),
signed into law by President Bush on February 20, 2003. Other
provisions relating to animal protection include:
• Funding to research and promote an alternative method for
raising farm animals.
• Increased funding for enforcement of the Animal Welfare
Act in facilities such as zoos, puppy mills and research
laboratories.
• The striking of language that would have restricted access
to information about inspected facilities.
Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Democrat Robert C.
Byrd (D-WV) led the effort on many of these provisions,
particularly the funding for the humane slaughter enforcement.
“Chairman Byrd’s leadership will make an enormous difference
for millions of animals at slaughterhouses across the country,”
said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS senior vice president. “USDA has
consistently failed to enforce this important – and very basic
– law. Animals are being hung on hooks, skinned, dismembered,
disemboweled, and boiled while they are still alive and
conscious. USDA’s lax enforcement, coupled with industry
pressure to speed up slaughterhouse assembly lines, has led to
an abhorrent and unbelievably cruel state of affairs.”
Although a USDA directive instructs slaughterhouse
inspectors to stop the production line when a humane slaughter
violation is observed, this rarely occurs. Inspectors are not
routinely tasked with checking for or reporting violations of
this law, and some slaughter plants have even installed
barriers that make it impossible for inspectors to see live
animals. Inspection activity centers on the examination of body
parts and carcasses, with inspectors stationed far down the
production line, well past where the animals are killed.
The bill requires USDA to use the $5 million to hire at
least 50 inspectors who will work solely on humane slaughter
enforcement, with particular attention to unloading, handling,
stunning and killing practices. The law also specifies that the
ongoing activities of 17 Veterinary Medical Specialists hired
as a result of $1 million that Sen. Byrd got appropriated in
2001 be limited to Humane Methods of Slaughter Act enforcement
rather than the variety of functions they had been overseeing.
Last year, Congress directed the Secretary of Agriculture to
step up enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act in a
resolution that was offered by Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL)
and former Representative Connie Morella (R-MD). That
resolution was incorporated into the farm bill, P.L. 107-171.
The $5 million will help ensure that this goal is carried out
effectively. Sen. Fitzgerald provided key support throughout
the appropriations process to reinforce Sen. Byrd’s initiative,
along with Reps. Morella and Elton Gallegly (R-CA).
A bipartisan group of 39 Senators and 132 Representatives –
led by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and John Kerry (D-MA) and
Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) -
signed letters to the Senate and House Agriculture
Appropriations Subcommittees in support of this initiative last
spring, calling for additional funding to hire humane slaughter
inspectors.
In addition to focusing attention on the humane slaughter
issue, this bipartisan group also requested an $800,000
increase to continue improving enforcement of the Animal
Welfare Act (AWA), which sets basic humane standards for
laboratories, puppy mills, zoos, circuses, airlines, and other
facilities. Congress agreed to that funding as well, marking
the latest increase in a multi-year effort to boost the AWA
inspections budget. This year's $800,000 increase combined with
previous increases boost funding for AWA inspections to $16.4
million in FY 03, up from the $9 million level they were funded
at throughout the 1990s, when about 60 inspectors were
responsible for monitoring more than 10,000 sites. In addition,
the bill contains a $160,000 increase for additional USDA
investigative and enforcement activities to follow-up on AWA
inspections and to ensure compliance with the law or
appropriate penalties for non-compliance.
Other provisions in the spending bill include $210,000 to
continue researching and promoting the use of hoop barns as an
alternative to factory farm structures. Hoop barns are better
for animal welfare, the environment, public health, and the
survival of family farms. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) championed
this funding. A recent poll commissioned by The HSUS in Iowa
found that 77 percent of Iowans polled would “switch to pork
products produced under only humane and environmentally sound
conditions,” if they could.
The law also includes language allowing continued access to
information, such as AWA inspection reports and annual reports
that inform the public about facilities’ compliance with humane
standards of care and trends in animal use. The House had
initially included a provision (Section 739) in its bill that
would have prohibited release of information if it “may be used
by individuals or terrorist organizations for the purpose of
targeting biomedical or agricultural research facilities or
personnel employed in biomedical or agricultural research.”
This broadly-written language could have applied to information
used by an investigative reporter who writes an expose about
violations of the law or by citizen activists who conduct a
letter-writing campaign.
“While the overall spending bill contains measures that
threaten the integrity of USDA’s organics label and provisions
that are harmful to the environment, it’s heartening to find
several provisions in this package that we can applaud,” said
Pacelle. “We are very grateful for the support of the Chairmen
and Ranking Members of the Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee, Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Herb Kohl (D-WI)
and Representatives Henry Bonilla (R-TX) and Marcy Kaptur
(D-OH). None of these measures that will benefit animals would
have been possible without their help.”
