Pigs and Public Health Act

This bill focuses on “downer” pigs—animals that cannot stand or walk on their own. It keeps them out of the food supply to protect public health and improve animal care. It requires immediate, humane euthanasia of these pigs; bans buying, selling, slaughtering, or processing them for meat; and directs USDA inspectors to mark any such carcass as condemned so it cannot pass inspection. The bill also calls for testing these pigs for diseases. Lawmakers cite studies showing these pigs often carry dangerous germs, and that keeping them out of the food supply protects consumers and workers.

It also sets stronger rules for how pigs are treated on farms, during transport, and in plants. It prohibits certain growth drugs in pigs when not used to treat disease. During transport, trucks must provide bedding, water, room to turn and lie down, and keep the inside temperature between 50–75°F, with records kept. Workers get new safety protections: the Labor Department must set a standard with training and mechanical lifting aids. To increase transparency, USDA must launch a confidential online complaint portal, publish yearly summaries, and protect whistleblowers from retaliation, including the right to go to court if USDA hasn’t decided within 210 days. USDA and CDC must study the health risks and publish a report.

• Who is affected: Hog farms, transporters, slaughter plants, their workers and inspectors, and the public (consumer health).
• What changes: No meat from downer pigs; humane euthanasia and disease testing; bans on certain growth drugs; stricter transport rules (bedding, water, space, 50–75°F); confidential complaint portal and whistleblower protections; worker-safety standard with training and lifting aids.
• When: Portal within 90 days; public summaries yearly starting within 1 year; slaughter/inspection rules take effect 1 year after enactment; transport enforcement rules due within 1 year; worker-safety standard proposed within 1 year and final within 2 years; health-risk study and report due within 1 year.