U.S. Moves to Prohibit Beef From Sick or Injured Cows

The Agriculture Department proposed on Tuesday banning from the food supply all cows that are too sick or injured to walk, a long-sought victory for advocates of animal welfare.

The proposed regulation would end an exemption that allowed the animals, known as downer cows, into the food supply if a government veterinarian inspected the animal and deemed it fit for slaughter.

Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer said that while the exemption was rarely granted — it applied to fewer than 1,000 of the 34 million cattle that were slaughtered last year — it had nonetheless created confusion among consumers.

The exemption was criticized after the Agriculture Department announced in February that 143 million pounds of beef would be recalled. Westland/Hallmark Meat, of Chino, Calif., had supplied the meat to retailers and school lunch programs. It was the largest beef recall in United States history.

The recall was prompted by an undercover videotape shot by the Humane Society of the United States last fall that showed Westland/Hallmark employees using forklifts, water hoses and electric prods to force sickly cows to their feet. Some of those cows ended up in the food supply.

The animals had fallen after passing an initial inspection by government inspectors. Under the downer exemption, a veterinarian could have been called to reinspect the animals and perhaps deem them healthy enough to slaughter. But the exemption apparently encouraged laxity; in some instances at Westland/Hallmark, downer cows were sent to slaughter without the reinspection.

“Rules have a purpose, and when you violate them, there are consequences,” Mr. Schafer said in a statement. Downer cows are restricted because they are more likely to carry illnesses, including mad cow disease.

No people were reported to be ill from the Westland/Hallmark meat, and agriculture officials maintained that the chances of illness were remote.

The Agriculture Department said eliminating the exemption for downer cows would make inspection procedures more efficient and reduce the incentive for meat companies to send sickly cows to market. The department will seek public comment before completing the rule.

“Cattle producers, transporters and slaughter establishments alike will be encouraged to enhance humane handling practices, as there will no longer be any market for cattle that are too weak to rise or walk on their own,” Mr. Schafer said.

The decision was hailed by animal welfare groups and members of Congress who had pushed to eliminate the exemption.

“It is a moral and economic imperative to establish a bright-line, no-downer policy, and we welcome the news,” said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive and president of the Humane Society of the United States. “We’ve always felt it was a small percentage, but a small percentage of 34 million is a lot of animals and a lot of suffering.”

Mr. Pacelle said his organization would push for more stringent oversight of the slaughter process, including installing cameras so that cattle could be monitored while they are waiting to be slaughtered.

“What Hallmark showed us is that the workers put on a different show when inspectors are present,” he said.

The proposal was also hailed by the meat industry, which threw its support behind the change in April. Industry leaders once favored the exemption, but came around to the view that it was undermining the confidence of consumers and foreign customers.

“A strictly enforceable downer ban will eliminate confusion and move the ball forward on food safety and humane standards, while restoring consumer faith in a vital American sector,” Senator Herbert H. Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, said in a statement.