The Obama administration amended the federal inspection rules for non-ambulatory cattle. Slaughtering cows that are too sick or weak to stand on their own is now against the law. This ban was proposed by the Department of Agriculture after the largest recall of beef occurred in the United States last year.
The final rule requires all cattle that are disabled prior to slaughter or those cattle that become non-ambulatory after passing inspection be taken out of the line of food supply. Non-ambulatory cattle are now required to be properly disposed of according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service regulations. Inspectors in the plant will tag those cattle as “U.S. Condemned” and will be humanely euthanized.
The administration mentioned that this will further minimize the chance of mad cow disease entering the food supply. Non-ambulatory cows have a larger risk of mad cow disease and also are more susceptible to bacterial infections that could get into the meat supply. The Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack mentioned that the ban is a step forward for standards of humane treatment of animals.
-World Dairy Diary, www.wdepo.com
