Sec. 2. Findings

342 words·~2 min read·/bill/118/hr/8994/ih/section-2

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Congress finds the following: Humane euthanization of nonambulatory pigs— prevents needless suffering; results in safer and better working conditions for individuals handling pigs; brings about improvement of products and reduces the likelihood of the spread of zoonotic and other diseases that have a great and deleterious economic impact; and protects the public health of consumers by ensuring that products from nonambulatory pigs do not enter the food supply. Many nonambulatory pigs are ill and may carry dangerous pathogens, posing a serious public health risk, considering— in a 2008 study, significantly more nonambulatory pigs than control pigs tested positive for swine influenza viruses H1N1 and H3N2; other studies have indicated that nonambulatory pigs may increase risk of transmission of pathogens such as Salmonella and Yersinia enterocolitica and may be more likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that pork containing pathogens leads to about 525,000 infections, 2,900 hospitalizations, and 82 deaths in humans each year.

Industrial operators have created a system that allows for the inhumane handling of nonambulatory livestock that causes needless suffering, unsafe working conditions, and the spread of foodborne and zoonotic diseases. Industrial operators have abused the use of certain drugs that increase the risk of pigs becoming nonambulatory. Current Federal animal transport laws are ineffective, inherently cruel, and cause pigs to become nonambulatory. Employees and contract laborers on farms, during transport, and at slaughter deal with nonambulatory pigs first hand, making them uniquely positioned to report public health threats they witness.

Since 2004, the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has banned all nonambulatory cattle from entering the Nation’s food supply due to increased risk of disease spread, but there are no such regulations for other species. In 2002, Congress mandated that the Department of Agriculture release a report regarding nonambulatory animals, but no such report has been released. The Department of Agriculture released a report on nonambulatory cattle and calves in 2005 and a report on sheep and goats in 2006.

No report has been issued on nonambulatory pigs.