Legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to protect farm animals from disease and mistreatment when they are transported over long distances in the United States.
Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) introduced the bipartisan Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act on September 10.
“For far too long, federal regulations requiring humane treatment of transported farm animals have not been enforced,” Titus said. “The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act would stop this lax regulation that has resulted in many animals being injured or succumbing to disease during transport.”
The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a mechanism to monitor compliance with the Twenty-Eight Hour Law, which requires animals to be offloaded for food, water and rest if they have traveled for 28 hours or more. While U.S. regulations on international animal exports guarantee livestock are healthy and fit to travel, interstate transportation lacks similar requirements, a press release from Titus’ office said. Without these guidelines, sickly and newborn animals are permitted to be transported over long distances, contributing to the spread of pathogens. To remedy this, the bill would also prohibit the interstate transport of livestock deemed unfit for travel due to sickness, injury or other conditions.
The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act has been endorsed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Humane World Action Fund, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF).
Co-sponsors of the bill are Reps. Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R-Northern Mariana Islands), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan).
