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“Downer” cows entered food supply

It’s been reported that “Downer" cows entered the food supply. The president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Company admitted that a couple of “downer” cows could have entered the food supply. Prior to this, he had said that no such cows have entered the food supply. So now, he’s admitting he’s wrong.

“Downer” cows is the term used for cows that cannot stand on their own or are sick. Downer cows are not allowed into the food supply because of the scare of mad cow disease.

He was quoted as saying, “the activities shown on the video are not ‘food safety issues.’ The cows shown in the video could not walk, were designated to be euthanized and were not put into commerce.” What I’d like to know is whether or not that it’s normal that cows that are to be euthanized are subjected to such treatment.

It’s quite obvious that the cows are being treated horribly. I for one cannot believe they would not at the very least be charged with cruelty to animals. Just because an animal is going to be euthanized, I don’t think that gives excuse for anyone to cause any kind of cruelty to them.

Because of the recall, they’ve lost millions of dollars and are possibly going to shut down operations. I say that’s fine, and they well deserved it.

Am I wrong to feel this way?

Comments

Downer cows are alarming. Government should have strict measures to prevent it from entering the market.

Heh are you wrong… I read all about DDD cows about 17 years ago. This is not an exception to the rule. In fact, it is the rule. Slaughterhouse animals are abused and treated horribly most of the time.

Absolutely agree with you.

Although I’ve not been able to become veggie, I have successfully and EASILY avoided beef for 2 1/2 years after driving by a west Texas slaughterhouse/holding yard on the way home from a vacation. I couldn’t really tell the physical condition of the cattle from the road, but they were penned in soooo closely awaiting their slaughter that I burst into tears. Seeing that in person quickly convinced me that hunting is actually more humane than most meat facilities. At least hunting more closely mimics the natural predator/prey scenario, and the animals live normal lives until the time they are killed. For the first time, I’m actually looking forward to my husband shooting a deer this Fall...free-range red meat, yay!

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