HSUS Uncovers More Downer Cows

May 7, 2008

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- The Humane Society of the United States released video footage today of sick and injured livestock the organization says were mistreated at auction sites and stockyards where cattle are sold for slaughter.

A graphic videotape made inside a California slaughterhouse released by the same group in January led to the nation's largest beef recall. Downed cattle may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease because they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak.

"We found downed cows in a state of ill health, with no relief provided to the animals," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and chief executive.

The organization released videos shot during April and May showing downed cows abandoned for hours at facilities in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The video was posted on the group's Web site.

Pacelle said there is no indication the downed cows his group filmed entered the food supply. He added, however, that the videos point out that auction sites fall between regulatory cracks, raising concern that a downed cow could potentially leave a facility and enter the food supply.

"Every place that we looked, we found downed animals," he said. "No one is watching. No one is taking responsibility for these animals."

The footage shows two downed cows at a site in Hereford, Texas; a downed cow that was left overnight outside an auction facility's barn in Westminster, Md.; two downed cows in at a site Clovis, N.M.; and a downed calf in Greencastle, Pa. In the Maryland case, investigators called the local Humane Society the next morning to euthanize the cow that spent the night behind the barn.

Pacelle said his organization had received a complaint about the Texas facility and had long-standing concerns about the Pennsylvania site. He said the New Mexico facility was chosen because it was close to Hereford and the Maryland auction because it was close to Washington.

"We intend to work immediately with the businesses where the improper handling reportedly occurred," Jim Santomaso, president of industry trade group the Livestock Marketing Association, said in a statement. "LMA shares everyone's interest in promoting the proper care and handling of all livestock, at all stages of their life."

The United States Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is the latest news on the issue of downer cows. Last week, Pet Pulse reported on the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service found humane handling violations at two of the nation’s largest beef processors.

Plants at National Beef Packing Co. in Dodge City, Kan., and Cargill Meat solutions in Fresno, Calif., were slapped with noncompliance records, according to the Associated Press. On appeal, the FSIS dropped Cargill’s violation record, instead issuing a letter of concern.

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.