American Humane Expert Proposes Live Video Feeds for Meat Industry in Testimony to U.S. House Subcommittee

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Wednesday, 16 April 2008 18:00

American Humane Association fellow John J. McGlone, Ph.D., testified today at a congressional hearing about the benefits of an independent, third-party, nonprofit organization like American Humane monitoring live video feeds of animal-processing facilities to reduce instances of inhumane treatment, improve the state of farm animal welfare and restore consumer confidence. For the full testimony, go to www.americanhumane.org/mcglone.

McGlone, a professor and institutional official for Animal and Food Sciences at Texas Tech University, In Lubbock, Texas, was invited to testify before a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the topic After the Beef Recall: Exploring Greater Transparency in the Meat Industry. He also said he believes the current system of oversight has reduced risk, but it is far from eliminating the risk of inhumane treatment or issues of food safety.

“A single person from a single federal agency observing animals and handlers at any given time — and less than 100 percent of the time — is not sufficient to prevent a human-induced error or crime,” McGlone said. “American Humane, the USDA and others have proposed video surveillance of meat-processing operations in federally inspected plants. The meat industry could benefit from such double-headed oversight by both the USDA and a non-profit, independent third party, such as American Humane.”

“Something must be done to restore consumer confidence through greater confidential transparency and oversight,” he said. “Video surveillance has the potential to be a reasonably inexpensive way of providing the technical aspects of oversight.”

He suggested that the highest level of oversight possible would be achieved by a combination of science-based animal welfare metrics, a high-rate of sampling of human-animal interaction (via video monitoring), oversight by an industry/non governmental organization/USDA collaboration that provides transparency, and a strong self-policing stance by the industry.

McGlone said he believes that the American Humane Certified™ farm animal welfare program, the USDA and others who have advocated for video monitoring are moving toward creating a more collaborative approach to improve the industry and protect consumers.

About American Humane

The American Humane Association is the only national organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Founded in 1877, American Humane is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. Through a network of child and animal protection agencies and individuals, American Humane develops policies, legislation, curricula and training programs to protect children and animals from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The nonprofit membership organization, headquartered in Denver, raises awareness about The Link® between animal abuse and other forms of violence, as well as the benefits derived from the human-animal bond. American Humane’s regional office in Los Angeles is the authority behind the “No Animals Were Harmed”® end credit disclaimer on film and TV productions, and American Humane’s office in Washington is an advocate for child and animal protection at the federal and state levels. American Humane meets the strong, comprehensive standards of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, has been awarded the Independent Charities of America “Best in America” Seal of Approval, and has received a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's leading charity evaluator. Visit www.americanhumane.org to learn more.