The Role of Government in Food Animal Production

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The USDA is the primary federal agency charged with regulating, among many industries, the animal food production and slaughter industry. Under the USDA there are several sub-agency programs, including the Animal and Plant Health Inspection agency (APHIS) and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). Both of these sub-agency programs are charged with specific duties relevant to food animal production, among other responsibilities. While millions of animals are covered under many of the regulations the USDA is responsible for enforcing, billions more are exempt.

Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

APHIS is a multi-faceted agency with a broad mission area that includes protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the Animal Care Program (ACP), and carrying out wildlife damage management activities. These efforts support the overall mission of USDA, which is to protect and promote food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues.

Animal Care Program (ACP) - The Animal Care Program operates under USDA’s APHIS to enforce the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the Horse Protection Act (HPA). Neither of these two laws protects food production animals. 

Animal Welfare Act (AWA) - The AWA covers a limited number of species of animals in research, exhibition, and the pet industry. Animals excluded from protections include mice, fish, rats, poultry and other birds, and all food production animals.

Horse Protection Act (HPA) - The HPA prohibits horses subjected to the cruel practice of soaring from participating in exhibitions, races, and other shows. Soaring involves the use of chemicals, inhumane hoof trimmings, and other methods meant to force the horse to raise his or her legs high while trotting.

Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)

The FSIS is the primary agency under the USDA charged with regulating food safety and humane slaughter of food production animals. The service is responsible for ensuring the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe and wholesome. The service is also responsible for ensuring the labels of meat, poultry, and egg products are truthful and accurate.

Humane Slaughter Act (HSA) - The HSA, also known as the Humane Methods of   Slaughter Act (HMSA) and the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMLSA), is designed to protect food animals just prior to and during their moment of slaughter. Animals slaughtered according to religious rituals and all poultry and all other birds and fish are excluded from the provisions of the act.

There are four basic methods of slaughter accepted by this act:

·         captive bolt gun – a device used to render large farmed animals such as horses, cattle, and pigs unconscious by shooting a metal bolt or rod through the animal’s head and into the brain. Unfortunately, the accuracy rate of captive-bolt stuns is not 100 percent; some animals are still awake when they are slaughtered.

·         electric bath – a tub of water with an electric current flowing through it that is designed to stun poultry prior to slaughter. The birds are shackled upside down and placed in the electric bath. While the animals should be rendered unconscious, the bath system is not foolproof; and many birds are fully conscious throughout the remainder of the slaughter process.

·         killing stick – a device used in the slaughtering process to cut the carotid arteries and jugular veins of animals once they have been stunned.

·         stunning – a term often used to describe the process of rendering farmed animals unconscious at the start of slaughter. Along with captive-bolt guns and electric baths, stunning knives are also used to stun animals. Stunning is an egregious and inaccurate method leaving many animals conscious and alert as slaughter beings.

Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) - The FMIA allows, among other provisions, licensed meat inspectors to enforce the HSA.

Farm Bill

The farm bill is an agricultural and food policy bill passed every few years by the United States Congress. The bill can appeal, amend, repeal, or add new policies from previous years. The farm bill is a major bill allocating funding to various food production industry areas, including food animal production and slaughter.

March 2010

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