Comments

The headline on Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) CEO Wayne Pacelle’s blog read, "Routine Abuse." Last week, HSUS was up to their usual undercover flogging of the livestock industry when they distributed video footage of downed animals at several auction markets around the country.
I’m not here to defend poor treatment of animals. This is an issue that everyone in the livestock producing and marketing industry needs to be very aware of. We all know that cattle go down, and oftentimes go down on the way to the auction market or after they arrive at the auction. But, the vast majority of animals make it through the markets and the processors in good order.

My problem with HSUS is that they have created a tear-jerk campaign to raise money. They expose just what they want to further their cause. They will never tell the whole story. It is easy for an organization like HSUS to make accusations, show a video clip and tell the world how bad our industry is. Afterward they stand back and make you justify what you have done. The environmental organizations mastered this format years ago.

During the HSUS press conference last week they confessed the fact that they were at the markets with hidden cameras taking the pictures to discredit our industry. When one reporter asked why they didn’t alert the market operators or the authorities in each case rather than wait around and allow the animals to suffer, Pacelle’s response was they were on an investigation, not a rescue. I wonder if he would call 911 after seeing a car accident.

Unfortunately, the video clips produced by HSUS showed several downed animals, but those downers were not sold into the food chain. Perhaps the animals weren’t dealt with in a time frame suitable for the HSUS folks or the market operators were waiting for the vet and the rendering truck to put them down or pick them up.

What are the standards for treating downed animals at any stockyard? Should they be euthanized the second they go down? Can they be held in the pen until the yard crew has time to deal with it? Is twelve hours too much time to let a downer sit? What if the yardman forgets to deal with the downer? The only hard and fast rule is that downers cannot be processed for human food consumption.

It seems like it all comes down to civility, of which HSUS has demonstrated they have little, when they’ll leave an animal to suffer for hours, or let downers be slaughtered over a four month period just so they can have their video clip for fund raising.

Pacelle said the group wants the states to keep an eye on humane treatment at auction markets. They most certainly attempted to give the impression that this kind of behavior happens every day at auction markets. They also said they want the federal government to get involved in overseeing humane handling issues at auction markets. They even referenced the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration as a possible agency to keep an eye on markets because they are already there, monitoring custodial accounts.

The livestock industry needs to set the standards and abide by them. This goes for the dairy industry as well. HSUS is asking for legislation on the issue, which is a microscopic problem in the cattle industry. It drives me crazy that the smallest issues get the most attention in Washington, D.C.

One thing’s certain, we don’t want HSUS setting standards for the industry, I guarantee we won’t like it. Just look at what they did with unwanted horses. They exterminated a small industry that paid taxes and employed people. Now they don’t want anybody transporting horses to Canada or Mexico to slaughter them.

Several livestock organizations published news releases after the HSUS press conference and literally sucked up to them. It is hard to call these guys a bunch a quacks. It’s like denouncing the Sierra Club because you support dirty air. Trying to work with HSUS almost makes the situation worse because they know they are getting to us. They are like a bully, and the only way to get rid of a bully is to ignore them.

HSUS is out to get the industry. They have money and they apparently think they have the court of public opinion behind them. We need to make certain they don’t have anything to tear the livestock industry down with. No possibility for undercover videos. The simplest thing to do, is do the right thing. Establish industry standards and deal with it. — PETE CROW