A new bill introduced in Congress would give the US Department of Transportation joint oversight with the Department of Agriculture to enforce humane treatment of farm animals during long-haul trucking, New York’s FreightWaves reported.
The Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act, proposed by Representative Dina Titus, would require compliance with the Twenty-Eight Hour Law, which mandates food, water and rest for animals transported over 28 hours.
Titus said federal regulations have long failed to protect animals in transit, leading to injuries and disease. Her bill also seeks to ban interstate transport of livestock deemed unfit due to illness or injury.
The Twenty-Eight Hour Law, enacted in 1873, originally applied to rail transport but now covers trucking, the dominant mode for livestock movement.
Adrienne Craig of the Animal Welfare Institute said the worst abuses occur when animals are hauled long distances while sick or disabled. She stressed the need for enforcement and inter-agency cooperation.
Lawmakers have also introduced two other bills this year affecting animal transport, including a ban on double-deck trailers for horses and exemptions from hours-of-service rules for livestock haulers.
