BOWLING GREEN, KY—The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) condemns the downed animal treatment shown on a video reportedly taken at a packing company in California. Related to the same incident, NIAA applauds action taken to make involved workers responsible for their actions by charging them with felony and misdemeanor counts.
“The abuse recorded is an isolated incident and is not common practice within animal agriculture. NIAA stands for responsible treatment of livestock and therefore does not condone this incident,” Scott Stuart, Chairman of NIAA, states. “We urge the USDA to fully investigate the downed animal incident and the undercover investigation.
“In addition, NIAA recommends that animal agriculture immediately report violations of food safety regulations and inhumane treatment of livestock to appropriate authorities.”
Stuart points out that the importance of animal care and well-being—in every step of the production chain—is the focus of NIAA’s upcoming annual meeting, April 1-3, in Indianapolis, Ind.
“Our 2008 annual meeting theme ‘Animal Care and Well-Being: Facts Not Fiction’ is extremely timely,” Stuart says. “This meeting provides the ideal forum for producers, livestock market owners and managers, animal health and management professionals, animal agriculture extension specialists, meat processing leaders, regulatory authorities and all individuals involved in animal agriculture—cattle, swine, sheep, goats, poultry and equine—to gather in one place, exchange information and take an in-depth look at animal care and well-being.
“We’ll address the issues and seek solutions across animal agriculture.”
Setting the tone for NIAA’s annual meeting will be Tuesday’s opening general session featuring four highly regarded, robust speakers: Dr. Wes Jamison, University of Florida, “Human-Animal Interaction: An Historical, Social and Political Perspective”; Dr. Ray Stricklin, University of Maryland, “Animal Care: Diverging Ethical Perspectives”; Steve Kopperud, Policy Directions Inc., “The U.S. Political Arena: On the Table and On the Horizon”; and Charlie Arnot, CMA Consulting, “Animal Care: Defining the Future.”
NIAA’s 12 species-based and issues-based committees will meet after the opening general session on Tuesday afternoon, April 1, and Wednesday, April 2. Committees are open to all attendees.