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NPPC weighs in on Supreme Court downer case
The National Pork Producers Council, NPPC, has weighed in on the case in California that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court about a state law that bans downer animals from entering the food supply. A 2008 California law calls for euthanizing non-ambulatory, or “downer” animals, immediately, which is contrary to federal law, which allows time for inspection of those animals by veterinarians.
NPPC President Doug Wolf of Wisconsin tells Brownfield they have filed a friend of the court brief with the American Association of Swine Veterinarians…
“Part of the current situation is that if you do have an animal that is a downer animal, they are set aside and the veterinarian goes in and assesses them. That’s an important part as far as determining – is there a possibility of a foreign animal disease or some other disease.”
According to Farm Futures Dot Com, the California law was passed after a video was released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showing downed cows at a California beef packing plant being mistreated.
The National Meat Association is asking the US Supreme Court – which heard oral arguments in the case earlier this month – to rule that the Federal Meat Inspection Act pre-empts California’s state law. A federal district judge blocked the California law but the US Appeals Court in San Francisco overturned that lower court ruling last year. Farm Futures reports several justices indicated during the hearing that California may have gone too far. A Supreme Court ruling is expected by next June.
Brownfield talked with Wolf at the 2011 NAFB Convention in Kansas City on November 10th.
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