California Non-Ambulatory Appeal to Supreme Court

June 29, 2011 — 

The US Supreme Court is to review a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a National Meat Association (NMA)-American Meat Institute (AMI) lawsuit challenging a California law that bans the slaughter of non-ambulatory livestock of all species. The central issue in the case is the law's failure to distinguish between livestock at rest, which is a common occurrence in swine, and livestock that have no independent mobility due to injury or other conditions.

The law also deems non-ambulatory swine as a "kind of animal" and therefore not subject to USDA inspection regulations if a state requires immediate euthanasia, as the California law does. The law prohibits federal inspectors from conducting ante-mortem inspections of non-ambulatory swine. Swine that do not undergo ante-mortem may not be processed.

NMA and AMI initially prevailed at the trial court level in February, but the Ninth Circuit overturned that decision in April. [Editor's note: The AASV joined the National Pork Producers Council in filing an amicus brief in support of the NMA petition.]

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in its next term, which begins on 4 October 2011.

Source: ThePigSite News Desk