[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       FARM SECURITY ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2646) to 
     provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through 
     fiscal year 2011:

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Ackerman-Houghton 
Amendment to prohibit the marketing of animals so sick they oftentimes 
cannot even walk. Animals too weak from sickness or injury are 
routinely pushed, kicked, dragged, and prodded with electric shocks in 
an effort to move them at auctions and intermediate markets, en route 
to slaughter. There is no excuse of this unnecessary torment.
  This amendment will protect these animals by preventing bad actors 
from transporting downed animals to livestock markets and requiring 
these downed animals to be humanely euthanized.
  Unfortunately, because livestock sold for human consumption will 
being a higher dollar than livestock sold for other purposes, greed has 
proven to be more important to some than the suffering of the animals 
or the knowledge that meat from these animals is likely to be unfit for 
consumption.
  These animals do not deserve this treatment and we do not deserve the 
threat of contaminated meat at our grocery stores. As Co-Chair of the 
Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus, I urge my colleagues to vote 
in favor of the Ackerman-Houghton Downed Animal Amendment.

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