Farm Sanctuary Applauds Governor Schwarzenegger for Strengthening Legal Protections...

Farm Sanctuary Applauds Governor Schwarzenegger for Strengthening Legal Protections for Downed Animals in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection
organization, today applauded California's Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger for signing Assembly Bill 2098 (AB 2098) into law,
which strengthens legal protections for downed animals in the state.
AB 2098 outlaws the sale of meat for human consumption from animals
too sick or injured to stand, and imposes stiff criminal penalties on
those who sell such products. California state assemblyman Paul
Krekorian introduced AB 2098 early this year to expand protections and
increase penalties for those who abuse downed animals.

This year's high-profile revelation of horrific abuses of cattle
at the Hallmark Meat Packing Company in Chino - as well as Farm
Sanctuary's own, ongoing documentation of downed animal abuses
throughout California during the past two decades - clearly
demonstrated an urgent need for better regulation. Farm Sanctuary was
instrumental in getting initial downer legislation passed in
California in 1994. At the time, this law was a landmark in downer
legislation, setting a precedent for downer laws passed in other
states. However, further investigations in California revealed that
the law was regularly violated with minimal enforcement at stockyards
and slaughterhouses throughout the state, and thusly became an
inadequate deterrent of ongoing abuse.

"Every year in the U.S., countless thousands of downed animals are
beaten, abused or otherwise tortured to move them to the killing
floor, or discarded and left to prolonged suffering," said Julie
Janovsky, Farm Sanctuary's director of campaigns. "These animals
endure egregious abuse when they are at their most weakened state.
With this legislation now in place in California, workers who abuse
downed animals or the companies that employ them will be held
accountable for their actions. We encourage federal legislators to
implement similar measures on a national scale."

San Bernardino District Attorney Michael Ramos stated that had
this bill been existing law, his office would have been able to
prosecute the company - not just the two workers who were ordered to
engage in the brutality at the Hallmark slaughter plant.

More information on pending federal legislation related to downed
animals can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/legislation. More
information on the history of Farm Sanctuary's No Downers Campaign can
be found at www.nodowners.org/timeline.htm.

Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection
organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked
to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry
through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms,
public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and
refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and
Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals,
who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating
visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional
information can be found at http://www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling
607-583-2225.

Farm Sanctuary
Tricia Barry, 607-583-2225 ext. 233
tricia@farmsanctuary.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008