Des Moines Register
09-29-06
USDA says rule on livestock stops applies to trucks
The regulation, originally used for rail shipments, requires most animals to be
unloaded every 28 hours.
By PHILIP BRASHER
Register Washington Bureau
Washington, D.C. - It's not just kids who need a break while traveling.
A 19th-century law that protected livestock from being mistreated by the railroads
now applies to trucks as well, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The department notified an animal-rights group this week of the agency's
decision that the trucking industry had to comply with the law.
The law, which dates to 1873 when cattle were shipped by rail, requires livestock
to be unloaded every 28 hours during shipment and given feed, water and rest.
More livestock, primarily young pigs, are shipped into Iowa each year than any
other state, according to the department records.
The livestock industry has raised concerns about the rule. But the industry also
says the decision is unlikely to have much impact on Iowa producers because
livestock are usually trucked to the state in less than 24 hours. It has become
common practice in the pork industry, in particular, for trucking companies to
assign two drivers to each load to avoid having to stop en route, these officials
say.
"The bottom line is that pigs are very valuable and producers want to get them in
Iowa and in place as healthy as possible," said Ron Birkenholz, a spokesman for
the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
Some 16.5 million pigs and 1.3 million cattle were shipped into Iowa in 2004,
according to USDA records.
Those livestock typically originate in other Midwest and Plains states, but more
than a million pigs were shipped from North Carolina to Iowa in 2001, the latest
year for which USDA has records on state-to-state shipments. Another 1.7 million
originated in Canada.
"Whether it's the cattle coming out of Montana or Idaho or pigs coming out of
Manitoba, Ontario or North Carolina on any of those long hauls, they really stress
to get them moved," said John Lawrence, an economist at Iowa State
University.
Trucks carrying calves avoid stopping so the animals don't lie down, said Leon
Yantis, president of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association. Calves travel better
standing, he said.
USDA notified its staff in 2003 that the law applies to trucks, but the decision did
not become public until the department responded to a petition filed by the
Humane Society of the United States.
"USDA's decision could substantially reduce suffering for the millions of farm
animals trucked long distances each year in the United States," said Wayne
Pacelle, president and chief executive of the group.
The agriculture department based its new interpretation of the 28-hour rule on
changes Congress made to the law in 1994. The department has investigated
one complaint, at the U.S.-Mexico border, that resulted in a warning letter being
sent to the shipper, said Jim Rogers, a spokesman for USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
From now on, complaints will be referred directly to the Justice Department for
investigation, Rogers said.
The same 1994 law that applied the 28-hour rule to trucks also relieved USDA
from responsibility for enforcing the law, the department told the humane society.
Chickens and turkeys won't get any relief from the rule. Poultry has always been
exempt, according to USDA.