SHAMEFUL! USDA Turns Its Back on 9 Billion Animals, and on You

Dear Supporters, Barely a week after we delivered 230,000 of your signatures to its door, the USDA denied our historic petition to protect birds under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Are we outraged? You bet! The USDA’s decision jeopardizes animal welfare, workers’ rights, and food safety. It keeps in place the horrific “live-shackle” method of poultry slaughter, which results in more severe animal cruelty, as birds have their throats slit while still conscious and able to feel pain; higher injury rates among poultry slaughterhouse workers; and increased risk of feces-contaminated poultry meat. The USDA’s decision also means that the only federal law addressing the treatment of animals at slaughter applies to just 2 percent of animals slaughtered in the United States, leaving the other 98 percent—about 9 billion every year—completely unprotected by federal law. While this heartless decision is disappointing, we cannot give up. Mercy For Animals will pursue all available legal options to overturn it. Go to MercyForAnimals.org/hen-heroes and sign up for MFA’s easy email action alerts to learn how you can help. And remember, the best thing we can all do to protect animals is to leave them off our plates and end the abuse of animals for food once and for all. Thank you so much for signing our petition and being a voice for these animals. Sincerely, Vandhana Bala Senior Vice President of Programs and General Counsel Mercy For Animals