United States-Animal Rights attack slaughterhouses.

UNITED STATES-ANIMAL RIGHTS AT IT AGAIN.

Advocates for the meat industry argue that a new state law barring animals unable to walk from entering the meat supply would unfairly open slaughterhouse employees to prosecution.

Animal advocates said the meat industry argument is hogwash.

The Humane Society of the United States filed legal action on Tuesday against a meat industry lawsuit seeking to overturn California law that keeps "downer" animals too sick to stand from being slaughtered for food.

Other animal-rights advocates have joined in support of the Humane Society’s opposition to the meat industry’s challenge.

Gene Baur, president and CEO of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization, said the meat industry challenge to the law is "based on greed, and a disrespect for animals and consumers."

"This was a policy put into place by the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and was being violated at the slaughterhouse in Chino and in response to the expose by the Humane Society showing animal abuse there, this law was tightened," Baur said.

"The law made it explicitly clear downed animals are not into to go into the food supply. And the meat industry wants to continue selling them for food."

The new state legislation, enacted last summer, came in the wake of the nation’s largest beef recall in history. The recall was sparked after the Humane Society uncovered abuse at the Westland/Hallmark meat slaughterhouse in Chino.