| Senator Bob Morton News &
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Morton’s nonambulatory cattle bill becomes law this month
July 14, 2009
Olympia…A
bill by Sen. Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls, making it a civil
infraction to deliver and accept sick cows at slaughter
facilities becomes law on July 26.
The measure,
Senate Bill 5974, makes people subject to a $1,000 fine for
transporting or accepting nonambulatory cattle at feedlots or
slaughter facilities.
“This will be an important and practical tool to keep
potentially bad beef out of the food chain,” Morton said. “We
needed a better way to get at this problem.”
The current criminal violation, put into place by the 2004
Legislature, remains on the books but it is a lengthy and costly
process for law enforcement and prosecutors.
A person may not be charged criminally for the same violation
for which a fine is imposed.
The state’s beef industry lost millions of dollars when export
markets refused to accept Washington beef after a cow infected
with “mad cow disease” was discovered at an eastern Washington
slaughterhouse in 2003.
Officials from the state Department
of Agriculture are at livestock sites frequently to monitor
animals brought in as part of the effort to ensure sick or
injured cattle do not get into the food chain. The federal
government also increased its efforts to protect consumers after
the 2003 incident.
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Additional
contact: Penny Drost (360) 786-7522 or
drost.penny@leg.wa.gov
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