The two-year, 14-page petition to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) from Animal Partisan, an animal activist group based in Glen Allen, VA, has garnered its first endorsement from a state law enforcement organization.
The Idaho Sheriffs Association (ISA) expressed its support for the Animal Partisan petition in an Aug. 21 letter to FSIS.
“On behalf of the Idaho Association (ISA), please accept this comment in support of Petition #23-071, requesting that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issue notice to improve the ability of states to enforce cruelty and neglect laws in cases involving livestock and poultry animals,” Jeff Lavey, ISA’s executive director, wrote.
The ISA represents Idaho’s elected sheriffs from each of Idaho’s 44 counties. As an association, it promotes the office of sheriff and seeks to serve Idaho’s citizens’ collective well-being.
Lavey said Idaho sheriffs see the petition as a “straightforward common sense request” that does not change or modify any existing laws. He said it will guide state law enforcement officials about their ability to enforce state cruelty and neglect laws involving livestock and poultry.
“ISA believes that a simple notice would eliminate confusion, make better use of resources, and improve enforcement of these laws,” he wrote. “As such, we support Petition #23-07 and encourage FSIS to approve this petition and issue the requested notice.”
The petition, submitted on Sept. 2, 2023, requests that FSIS issue a notice to convey that:
1) State government officials are not categorically preempted from enforcing state anti-cruelty laws by the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, or the Poultry Products Inspection Act; and
2) FSIS personnel should cooperate with state government officials in the enforcement of state anti-cruelty laws and improve clarity and frequency of communication (i.e., Letters of Concern (“LOC”)) to those officials.
The petition for policy change, assigned No. 23-07, was referred to the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development for review. More than a dozen individuals and groups have commented on the Animal Partisan, mostly favorably, including those from other animal activists.
In other petition news, the agency received a petition on Aug. 21 submitted on behalf of Moin Halal Meat, requesting that FSIS either:
(1) define “Zabiha Halal” as hand-slaughtered without stunning, in accordance with widely accepted standards; or
(2) require the use of “Zabiha Halal” to be certified by a third-party certifying organization that publishes its definition on a public website.
The FSIS stated that the request is being considered as a petition for policy change under agency regulations on petitions (9 CFR part 392) and has been referred to the Office of Policy and Program Development for review, assigned petition number 25-03.
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