Downer Animals and Public Health

“Downer” animals, or livestock that has been injured or is so ill they cannot walk, are a major concern in America’s slaughterhouses, stockyards, and factory farms.  While NHES and many other humane-minded organizations and individuals advocate humanely euthanizing downed animals, some factory farmers still attempt to send defeated cows, sheep, pigs and other animals to slaughter.  This raises many concerns for the animal welfare community as well as the general public.

Downer animals—predominantly cows—suffer immobility for various reasons.  Primary reasons include injuries such as sprained or broken legs, fatigue brought on by maltreatment, or the neurological disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. Not only do these animals suffer greatly, but human consumption of their meat can cause health concerns. 

Transmitted through the spinal chord and brain, Mad Cow Disease gets its name because of the damage it inflicts on a cow’s nervous system, causing the animal to act strangely and lose control of its ability to function, ultimately killing the animal.  Although the disease cannot be spread from animal to animal, or to humans, people can contract a form of this disease (Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease) from eating the meat of diseased animals. Infected humans will experience mood swings, numbness, uncontrollable body movements, and other neurological symptoms—the end result of this disease is always fatal.

It is this disease that brought the subject of downer cows into mainstream media. When public health issues became a concern, the media, general public, and thankfully, U.S. government took steps to regulate factory farm processes. These federal regulations dictate that only animals able to walk on their own may be used for meat. Because of the Mad Cow Disease risk, downed cattle especially should be humanely euthanized and removed immediately so as to not be allowed into the food system.

This is not always the case.  Beef producers have found a loophole in the current legislation, realizing that cows only need to be standing while being inspected—they can otherwise be downed animals.  This thinking allows diseased and crippled cows into the food system.  The USDA states that cows that have become immobile are more likely to have Mad Cow Disease because of the way the sickness atrophies their muscles. 

In early 2008, the meat industry came under much scrutiny due to a Humane Society of the United States video capturing the cruel treatment of downed cattle at a San Bernardino County, California slaughterhouse.  The video (still available online) shows workers using chains to drag cows by their forelegs, stabbing them with forklift blades, excessively electrocuting them, and spraying them in the faces with high-power water hoses.  Desperate to force these cows to stand to be inspected before slaughter, these beef producers resorted to animal cruelty.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated event.  Countless cows across the country face the same fate every day.  The quality of life leading toward slaughter for these docile creatures is truly lacking.  Downed animals are subjected to horrifying cruelty, abuse and heartlessness.  With the driving force behind factory farms being the bottom dollar, animal well-being is overlooked.  The images depicted in this video documented the shocking immorality of which the beef industry should be ashamed.

Based on the downed-cow video, the USDA subsequently recalled 143 million pounds of beef, citing health violations as the cause. More than one-third of the recalled beef was sent to school systems nationwide to be used in lunches.  Of that one-third, approximately 20 million pounds were consumed before the recall took effect. Twenty million pounds of beef that could be contaminated with BSE was consumed by our nation’s young people.  With an incubation time of up to 40 years, we have a long time to sit and wait to see if people start showing symptoms.  Clearly, the regulations governing factory farming of cattle need to be evaluated, updated, and formally amended to ensure humane animal treatment and preserve public health.

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