Following a four-year legal battle, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently ruled that plaintiffs did not have standing to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the slaughter practices for poultry.

The lawsuit, which was filed in San Francisco just days before Thanksgiving in 2005 by the Humane Society of the United States, contended that the USDA’s position that the Humane Method of Slaughter Act of 1958 did not apply to poultry leads to shoddy slaughter practices and jeopardizes food safety.  In the lawsuit, the Humane Society alleged that without legal protection, poultry is subject to “extreme and unnecessary pain and suffering.”

Calling the lawsuit “unnecessarily distracting,” Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation, added, “They’re trying to create an issue where there is none. They’re out trying to create a false impression of what’s going on in the industry.”

Following oral arguments, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled in favor of the USDA, saying it was not Congress’ intent to include poultry in the phrase “other livestock” contained in a half-century old congressional act on humane slaughter.  On appeal, a three-judge panel decided that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue, vacated the lower court’s ruling and sent it back to be dismissed.

Jonathan Lovvorn, an attorney for the Humane Society said a decision whether to appeal has not been made.

—Source:  The Los Angeles Times