Poultry meat processing line

August 26, 2022Final Brief Filed in Clinic’s Poultry Case Against the USDA

Today, our Animal Law & Policy Clinic filed a final Reply Brief in its effort to compel the USDA to ban inhumane practices of live birds at poultry slaughterhouses.

Today, our Animal Law & Policy Clinic filed a final Reply Brief in an effort to compel the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ban inhumane practices at poultry slaughterhouses.

The Clinic’s lawsuit against the USDA was filed in August 2020 on behalf of the Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary and called on the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to develop regulations governing the handling of millions of chickens, turkeys, and other birds at federally inspected slaughter facilities to address the systematic mistreatment of these animals, which can compromise food safety and meat quality.

The USDA moved to dismiss the suit, but US District Judge Charles Siragusa sided with the plaintiffs and in October 2021 ruled that the case should move forward on its merits.

Clinical Fellow Rebecca Garverman assisted Clinic Director Katherine Meyer with preparing the final reply brief. Arguments in the case, which has been covered by Bloomberg Law and a host of other media outlets, will be on September 29.