Dear John,

Animals’ eyes are so expressive, and the pain and fear we saw in Julia’s eyes told us everything about how this intelligent, resilient, and pregnant pig had been mistreated.

Before Farm Sanctuary came to her rescue, Julia had been kicked, beaten, and burned with an electric cattle prod. When she finally collapsed from the abuse, the factory farm workers dragged her by her ears into the crate where she was to give birth. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of farm animals suffer such extreme abuse and neglect that they become too sick, injured, or weak to stand or walk.

Rather than being treated with compassion, these animals are left to suffer for hours or days without veterinary attention. They may even go without food or water if they’re out of reach. Finally, “downers” are thrown out like worthless trash—or end up being dragged, beaten, pushed with forklifts, or shocked to get them onto slaughterhouse kill floors, where they are processed for the human food supply.

John, I know you agree that no one should suffer like this!

That’s why I am asking you to join Farm Sanctuary in our fight to end this cruelty. Please take action by sending a message to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to ban the slaughter of all downed animals—with no exceptions.

Farm Sanctuary has led the fight to protect downed animals ever since I rescued Hilda: a sheep discarded on a pile of dead animals at a Pennsylvania stockyard in 1986.

In the 1990s we petitioned—and then sued—the USDA to ban the slaughter of downed cows. It took several years of hard work, but eventually we won! More recently, we mobilized people across the nation to speak out against this intolerable cruelty, leading President Obama to strengthen the ban to include downed calves!

But the federal policy still does not go far enough. That’s why, in 2020, Farm Sanctuary and a coalition of animal advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the USDA for failing to stop the terrible abuse and slaughter of sick or injured farm pigs like Julia.

While our lawsuit remains pending, the change in leadership at the USDA under President Biden presents a new opportunity to finally right this wrong—right now!

Will you help us put pressure on the USDA to extend compassion for these vulnerable animals? Speak out for all farm animals by taking action today.

The meat industry continues to profit from selling downed animals who are at a heightened risk of carrying human-transmissible pathogens like swine flu and Salmonella into the food supply—where they end up on kitchen tables and school lunch trays.

Only when there is no longer a financial incentive to slaughter these poor animals will the industry care about keeping them healthy. Only when thoughtful people like you say “no” to the horrific, but common, abuses of factory farming will downed animals’ lives change for the better.

That’s why we need you to send a message urging Secretary Vilsack to extend the ban on the slaughter of sick and injured cattle to protect ALL downed animals.

Thank you for refusing to be silent about this egregious factory farm cruelty!

Yours for farm animals,

Gene Baur
President and Co-founder

P.S. If Farm Sanctuary hadn’t been there to rescue her, Julia’s life—and the lives of her babies—would have ended horribly. We need to stop this cruelty. Be the hero abused farm animals need by taking action today.