Animal Partisan petitions USDA for policy statement clarifying role in enforcing state cruelty laws
CURRENT STATUS: (Active) Petition under consideration by USDA
September 2, 2023
As part of its ongoing campaign to enforce state anti-cruelty laws in cases involving farmed animals, Animal Partisan has invoked a procedure of federal administrative law to urge the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to issue a policy statement clarifying the agency’s role in the enforcement of such laws.
The petition, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, is targeted at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS”), the branch of the agency responsible for conducting inspections at federally registered slaughterhouses. Animal Partisan is asking the FSIS to issue a formal policy statement conveying the following:
State government officials, including prosecutors and law enforcement, are not categorically or automatically prohibited from enforcing state anti-cruelty laws by any of the federal laws enforced by the FSIS; and
FSIS personnel should cooperate with state government officials in the enforcement of state anti-cruelty laws
Animal Partisan’s petition arises from repeated instances of state prosecutors and law enforcement officials declining to pursue criminal charges for abuse against farmed animals based on their mistaken belief that they are unable to do so due to conflicts with federal law and that only the USDA can protect the welfare of animals used in agriculture. The petition outlines numerous instances where groups such as Animal Partisan, PETA, Animal Equality, and Animal Outlook, were denied criminal charges by state officials operating under the mistaken belief that they could not enforce their own anti-cruelty laws.
If the USDA grants Animal Partisan’s petition, the agency’s policy statement would help remedy a common misunderstanding by state enforcement officials and serve as an invaluable resource for animal protection groups and others seeking to enforce state anti-cruelty statutes to animals used in agriculture. Although state anti-cruelty laws apply to these animals, it has historically been difficult to obtain enforcement due to a variety of issues, including confusion over the role of the USDA—the issue the petition seeks to address—in addition to exemptions that exclude certain conduct common in the agriculture industry, as well as reluctant prosecutors and law enforcement officials who may be disinterested in prosecuting such cases. Since its inception, Animal Partisan has successfully used private complaint laws to circumvent reluctant enforcement officials and now seeks to further strengthen the tools available to animal advocates through a formal USDA policy statement.
View a copy of the petition HERE.
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