New Legislation for Livestock Transport Protection
WASHINGTON — A new bill designed to enhance the protection of livestock transported over long distances will assign the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) a portion of the responsibility for enforcing these protections.
The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act, put forward by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus from Nevada, seeks to require the DOT, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to oversee compliance by truck drivers with the Twenty-Eight Hour Law. This USDA regulation mandates that animals must be unloaded for food, water, and rest after being transported for 28 hours or more.
Titus previously introduced this legislation in the last Congress, but it did not progress to a vote.
“For far too long, federal regulations that ensure humane treatment of transported farm animals have gone unenforced,” Titus stated in a press release. “The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act would put an end to this negligence, which leads to many animals being harmed or suffering from illness during transport.”
The Twenty-Eight Hour Law, established in 1873, was initially enacted to address the inhumane conditions faced by farm animals during lengthy journeys by rail. Today, livestock transportation primarily occurs via trucks.
In addition, Titus’s bill would ban the interstate transport of livestock considered unfit for travel due to illness or injury.
“The most severe cases of abuse in the transport of farmed animals arise when they are moved over excessive distances or when they are ill, injured, or otherwise in a condition that makes travel unbearable,” explained Adrienne Craig, an attorney from the Animal Welfare Institute, which supports the bill.
“The millions of animals transported on our roads each year should benefit from the protections provided by our nation’s oldest animal welfare law – the Twenty-Eight Hour Law. However, effective enforcement and inter-agency cooperation remain crucial for this to happen.”
This year, lawmakers have also introduced at least two other pieces of legislation addressing commercial drivers and the transport of animals across state lines. These include a prohibition on the use of double-deck trailers for horses and adjustments to hours-of-service regulations for livestock haulers.
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