July 16, 2006
The Honorable Michael Johanns
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independent Ave. S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Re: Texas pig deaths and the Twenty-Eight Hour Law
Dear Secretary Johanns:
On June 26 and June 27 of 2006, some 2,644 pigs arrived at the Texas
Department of Agriculture's Livestock Export Facility, having
been transported by truck from Ohio. Because of a delay in
receiving paperwork deemed necessary by Texas Agriculture officials,
the pigs were not unloaded, but instead remained confined inside
transport trailers for an additional 48 - 72 hours.
Temperatures during their period of confinement climbed well into the
90's; humidity averaged at 65 percent. Initial
investigations indicate that the pigs were overloaded and that the
trailers in which they were held were not properly equipped with
watering devices. The end result was the death of approximately
150 pigs. They are presumed to have died of dehydration and
heat exhaustion. I think it also reasonably safe to assume that
their deaths were neither quick nor pleasant.
In reading about this story, I have discovered one rather astonishing fact.
The Twenty-Eight Hour Law, which requires that for every 28-hour
period of confinement in interstate transport animals must be
offloaded for feeding, water, and rest, has been so interpreted by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as to exclude
transportation by truck. Had such an exclusion not been made,
the Texas pigs would not have suffered such miserable deaths.
The decision by USDA to exclude truck transport from their
interpretation of the Twenty-Eight Hour Law clearly negates the
original purpose of this legislation. As our nation's
first federal humane law, the "Act to Prevent Cruelty to Animals
while in Transit by Railroad or Other Means" (now referred to as
the "Twenty-Eight Hour Law") was created to ensure the
welfare of farmed animals while undergoing forms of transport common
to the era. When first enacted, the Act applied to
"railroad[s] . . . steam, sailing, or other vessels of any description."
As currently worded, the law applies to all "vehicle[s]"
operating as rail, express, or "common carriers."
While it is true that transport by truck is not specifically
mentioned, neither is it specifically excluded. Transport by
truck is now the most common form of animal transport; it comprises
over 90 percent of the total figure. It is, therefore, nothing
short of a logical absurdity that USDA should exclude this mode of
transport from its interpretation of the Twenty-Eight Hour Law.
Such an exclusion is clearly of benefit to the exploiters of nonhuman
animals; equally clear is the fact that it results in suffering by
the animals so exploited, as exemplified by the recent deaths of
nearly 150 pigs due to their confinement aboard trailers for a period
of time far exceeding 28 hours. These deaths, and the suffering
involved in these deaths, were entirely avoidable. In October
of 2005, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) submitted a
petition detailing the reasons why USDA should regulate truck
transport of animals: the historical background of the
Twenty-Eight Hour Law, the ramifications of its lack of enforcement
with regard to both animal welfare and human health, and arguments
concerning its applicability to modes of transport beyond those
specifically mentioned in the Act, were all given exhaustive representation.
Yet, some nine months later, the petition still remains unanswered.
Thus this letter. It is not only so-called "animal
rights" organizations that are interested in your future
determinations with regard the applicability of the Twenty-Eight Hour
Law to truck transporters; members of the general public, of which I
am one, are keenly interested as well. Please give the petition
submitted by HSUS the attention it deserves. The welfare of
countless numbers of animals depends upon it.
Yours sincerely & etc. . . .
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