"A sickening practice in the already controversial meat production industry is that of killing animals too weak and sick to walk to slaughter: “downer” animals. The USDA banned downer cows in 2009 when studies found that they were more likely to carry “mad cow disease,” which could be passed onto humans who ate the infected meat.
Moreover, workers in meat production facilities are notorious for using horrific tactics to force sick animals to slaughter. By banning downer animals from being sold, workers no longer have to resort to such crude tactics. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), along with a coalition of animal rights groups, has petitioned the USDA to ban downer pigs from the human food supply.
Sign this petition to support the ALDF and protect both human health and the sick pigs that are mistreated so horribly."
