HFAC Decries Supreme Court Decision

(Herndon, VA, January 26, 2012) – Humane Farm Animal Care® (HFAC), the leading non-profit certification organization improving the lives of farm animals in food production, today expressed regret over the Supreme Court decision overturning the California ban which prohibits non-ambulatory or “downer” animals in the food supply.  The Supreme Court stated that their decision on Monday was because the California state law, passed in 2008, cannot supersede the federal law.

“Unfortunately, the California law was much stronger than the federal law. The federal law does not prohibit non-ambulatory animals from entering the food supply, or require them to be humanely euthanized,” said Adele Douglass, Executive Director of HFAC.

The Certified Humane® program prohibits non-ambulatory animals from being transported off the farm for any reason, and requires that they receive veterinary care and if necessary, humane euthanasia.

“The bottom line is that non-ambulatory animals are not allowed to be slaughtered for food on the Certified Humane® program,” said Douglass. “Consumers can purchase Certified Humane® products with the confidence that the animals were cared for and raised humanely.”
Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals by certifying their humane treatment.  Supported by more than 38 humane organizations, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program is nationally recognized as the Gold Standard for certifying animal welfare from birth through slaughter.  Since the program was unveiled in May 2003, more than 85 companies, representing thousands of farms and millions of farm animals, have been certified.
HFAC’s Animal Care Standards were developed by a veritable “Who’s Who” of national and international animal scientists and farm-animal welfare experts. Producer compliance with the HFAC standards is verified through annual on-site visits by HFAC’s third-party inspectors.

For additional information, visit HFAC’s Website at, {cms_selflink page=’home’ text=’www.certifiedhumane.org’}.