Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) has introduced the Pigs and Public Health Act, a pivotal step towards safeguarding animal welfare and public health in the U.S. food system. Supported by Mercy For Animals and the ASPCA®, this proposed legislation targets the inhumane treatment of over half a million “downed” pigs each year—animals too sick or injured to stand—while addressing serious zoonotic disease risks linked to unsanitary practices. By enforcing humane handling standards, removing downed pigs from food production, and establishing a whistleblower portal for reporting violations, this bill aims to improve animal welfare, protect workers, and enhance consumer safety
In a significant move toward improving animal welfare and public health, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) has introduced the Pigs and Public Health Act, a legislative effort aimed at addressing the critical issue of nonambulatory, or “downed,” pigs in the U.S. food system. Supported by prominent animal rights organizations Mercy For Animals and the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), this bill seeks to mitigate the suffering of approximately half a million pigs that arrive at slaughterhouses each year too sick, exhausted, or injured to stand. These vulnerable animals often endure prolonged periods of neglect, lying in waste and facing immense suffering, while also posing significant zoonotic disease risks to workers, reminiscent of the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
Despite existing federal regulations protecting downed cows and calves, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has yet to extend similar protections to pigs. The Pigs and Public Health Act aims to fill this regulatory gap by implementing comprehensive standards for the handling of pigs at farms, during transport, and at slaughterhouses. Moreover, the bill proposes the removal of downed pigs from the food system and the creation of a public health online portal to report violations, overseen by the USDA and the Department of Justice.
The introduction of this legislation is particularly timely given the current spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) through farms, posing further threats to both animal and human health. Agricultural workers, who are often forced to handle these distressed animals quickly to meet industry demands, are at heightened risk. The bill’s proponents argue that it will not only alleviate the suffering of pigs but also compel the meat industry to adopt better welfare standards, ultimately benefiting both animals and humans.
The Pigs and Public Health Act would improve conditions for suffering pigs and address food-safety threats.
WASHINGTON (July 11, 2024) — Mercy For Animals and the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) commend Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) for introducing the Pigs and Public Health Act to address the serious threat of nonambulatory, or “downed,” pigs in the food system. Each year, about half a million pigs arrive at U.S. slaughterhouses so sick, exhausted or injured that they cannot stand. These pigs are often “saved for last” and left lying in waste for hours, leading to tremendous suffering and placing workers at greater risk of contracting a zoonotic disease that could spark a human pandemic as swine flu did in 2009.
Federal regulations are in place to protect downed cows and calves, but the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has refused to establish the same for downed pigs. FSIS leadership has declared that they will not take action on downed pigs until a threat equivalent to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease,” emerges. But we must not wait for a public health catastrophe. We have seen the devastating impacts of diseases arising from industrial animal agriculture — on both animals and people — and we must remove downed pigs from the food system before it is too late.
The Pigs and Public Health Act would protect human health and spare hundreds of thousands of animals unnecessary pain and suffering by implementing proactive measures:
- Creating standards for handling pigs in farms, during transport and at slaughter.
- Removing downed pigs from the food system.
- Developing a public health online portal for agricultural workers, including employees and contractors, to blow the whistle on violations of the bill’s standards related to worker safety and animal welfare. The USDA and Department of Justice will oversee this online portal and be required to release an annual aggregate report of all portal submissions.
The importance of this legislation is even more timely as highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) spreads through farms, infecting animals — including dairy cows — and workers. Experts warn that pigs would be an even worse host for bird flu, given the record of pigs hosting flu viruses that jump to humans. Agricultural workers are uniquely vulnerable to these public health risks, as they are forced to handle these pigs as quickly as possible to benefit the industry’s bottom line. Workers must also endure the physical and mental toll of attempting to load, unload and slaughter animals who cannot move freely on their own and are in a great deal of distress.
“Big Meat profits by neglecting pigs at every stage of factory farming and has no financial incentive to treat animals better,” said Frances Chrzan, senior federal policy manager of Mercy For Animals, U.S. “The USDA has given the industry license to exploit animals in such horrendous ways — to the point of immobility — by allowing the slaughter of sick or injured pigs and the sale of their flesh to unknowing consumers. Mercy For Animals applauds Representative Escobar for championing the Pigs and Public Health Act to protect pigs and humans alike. Prohibiting the slaughter of downed pigs would not only reduce their needless suffering but force the hand of Big Meat to improve their animal welfare standards and prevent pigs from becoming downed in the first place.”
“For years congress has failed to support regulations in the U.S. pork industry that ensure safe working conditions and humane treatment of farmed animals,” said Rep. Escobar. “The risk that downed pigs pose to public health continues to be a problem, which is why PPHA is an imperative step in the right direction. The factory farming model as it stands today increases the likelihood of infectious diseases in humans from animal origins. Big agribusinesses that value fast profit over the safety of their workers and consumer transparency are standing in the way of stopping this threat to public health. We are grateful for the collaboration with Mercy For Animals and other advocates who have highlighted these critical issues. We have implemented similar protections in the cattle industry; it’s now time that we take action in the pork industry. PPHA will improve standards, accountability mechanisms, transparency, and information collection.”
“Over 120 million pigs are raised for food in the U.S. each year, the vast majority of whom spend their lives in barren crates or pens at factory farms,” said Chelsea Blink, director of farm animal legislation at the ASPCA. “Half a million of those pigs become downed, so weak or ill that they are unable to stand, causing particularly acute suffering, in addition to posing serious risks to food safety. We applaud Representative Escobar for introducing the Pigs and Public Health Act, which would finally ensure that commonsense animal welfare standards are in place to protect pigs from cruelty during transport and at slaughter while incentivizing better on-farm conditions to improve their welfare overall.”
“Plant employees and food safety inspectors work side by side to ensure American families have access to safe pork products,” said Paula Schelling Soldner, chair of AFGE’s National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals. “It is critical to the safety of our food supply that workers be able to report safety abuses without the fear of retaliation. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) calls on Congress to pass this important bill to protect American consumers.”
Now is the time for the U.S. government to address regulations for downed pigs — before another disastrous public health crisis. The USDA should not wait for a disease outbreak to take action to protect suffering pigs and the public. Mercy For Animals calls for representatives to support the Pigs and Public Health Act and include its provisions in the Farm Bill to help countless farmed animals and protect Americans against zoonotic diseases.
Notes to Editors
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Robin Goist at [email protected].
Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies, and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. 2024 marks Mercy For Animals’ 25th year of groundbreaking campaigns and programs. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.
Notice: This content was initially published on MercyForAnimals.org and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Humane Foundation.
