Protect Animals, Workers, and Food Safety

Animal Legal Defense Fund

Dear John,

The number of animals that can be killed every hour at slaughterhouses has historically been regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When slaughterhouses are allowed to kill at high line speeds (up to 175 birds a minute and at unlimited speeds for pigs), farmed animals are vulnerable to increased suffering because the faster speed compounds the risk of animals not being unconscious when they are killed.


 

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the animal agriculture industry’s failure to adapt to changing circumstances, and thousands of slaughterhouse workers continue to contract the virus. These factors make it even more critical that line speeds be closely regulated to protect animals, workers, and public health.

For years, industrial animal agricultural interests have lobbied the federal government to increase line speeds and minimize oversight. The Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act (H.R. 7521/S.4338) would suspend the USDA authority to issue new waivers related to line speeds and suspend current waivers during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It would also halt the implementation of the “New Swine Slaughter Inspection System” which allows pig slaughterhouses across the country to police themselves and exposes pigs to horrific abuse.

Please take a few minutes to urge your federal legislators to co-sponsor this bill today.

Faster line speeds make it difficult for animal agriculture workers to maintain social distancing, increasing the risk of infection. And fast line speeds always increase animal suffering and food safety risks. Thank you for urging your legislators to co-sponsor the Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act.

For the animals,


Alicia Prygoski
Legislative Affairs Manager

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