Absent Federal Policy, States Take Lead on Animal Welfare

In the opening weeks of the Trump administration, the state of animal welfare—as with so much other policy—is in upheaval. On February 9, the administration froze the implementation of the just-passed Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP)—the only comprehensive federal law that regulates the welfare of animals raised for food.  The freeze comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) removing Animal Welfare Act inspection reports from its website. These cover compliance (and violations) of facilities that raise animals commercially for sale as pets, for biomedical research, and for zoos and circuses—but not those raised for food. In fact, only animals on the way to slaughter and in the slaughterhouse are covered under existing national law. The USDA says it removed the data for privacy reasons and because of ongoing litigation. In response, PETA and half a dozen other animal rights groups have filed suit against the USDA, charging the agency with violating the Freedom of Information Act. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is also taking steps toward legal action, and Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), calling it a “transparency issue,” has demanded that the USDA immediately restore this data. In a press release, the USDA explained that the Trump administration is delaying the OLPP rule “to ensure the new policy team has an opportunity to review the rules.” But organic food producers and animal welfare and food safety advocates point to the long process of developing the updated rule and its significance to growing consumer interest in farm animal welfare. “The rule has been fully vetted and has undergone the public comment process and scrutiny of federal budget watchdogs,” said the Organic Trade Association (OTA) in a statement.