Slaughtering Humanely

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now tracking the amount of time inspectors spend assuring that cattle and hogs are slaughtered humanely.

The closer tracking follows criticism from Garry McKee, head of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, who believes inspectors weren’t doing enough to prevent unsafe and cruel practices at plants.

It is a view echoed by Congress' investigative wing. In a General Accounting Office report released to Congress in February, congressional investigators said government inspectors were failing consistently to enforce rules on humane slaughtering despite additional money and orders to devote more resources to it.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 28, 2004 12:48 PM | TrackBack