Delayed disclosure of records hinders the groups’ ability to identify patterns that contribute to animal suffering at slaughter.
AWI: ‘The Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for department records related to the treatment of animals in US slaughter plants. The lawsuit is based on a 2016 amendment to FOIA that requires federal agencies to proactively post records that are subject to frequent requests.
The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of New York, asks the USDA to proactively post records relating to the enforcement of two laws dating to the 1950s—the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act.
Such records expose inhumane treatment of animals at slaughter plants across the country, including incidents of workers throwing chickens and improperly stunning pigs and cattle, and transporters abandoning trucks full of animals for hours in hot weather.
Animal advocacy groups review hundreds of these records annually to monitor USDA enforcement and produce reports, action alerts and policy recommendations based on the findings… Delayed disclosure of records hinders the groups’ ability to identify patterns that contribute to animal suffering at slaughter’. SOURCE…
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