United States-Cattle If they are Down they are Out.

If the US cattle are down, then they are out

US Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, has announced a final amendment to the federal meat inspection regulations, with a complete ban on the slaughter of all cattle that are non-ambulatory ("downer") disabled. The ban even includes cattle which become non-ambulatory after they pass an ante-mortem inspection by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Previously, if cattle passed veterinary inspection at a plant and subsequently became non-ambulatory, they could be re-inspected to determine if they were fit for processing, and could if permitted, proceed to slaughter, tagged as "US Suspects". This final rule ends that option, whereby all non-ambulatory cattle will be tagged as "US Condemned" and properly disposed of according to FSIS regulation.

Last year, FSIS published a proposed rule to amend the regulation in response to the events at a packing company where there was evidence showing violation of rules against the slaughter of non-ambulatory cattle, resulting in one of the largest US meat recalls in history.

FSIS has determined that the amendment to the current regulation is necessary to ensure that animals that may be unfit for human consumption do not proceed to slaughter, it precludes establishments from attempting to force non-ambulatory disabled cattle to rise, and it improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the inspection program.