Calif. bill to OK slaughterhouse surveillance fails

Sacramento, Calif.

- The same day a new tape was released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showing alleged new abuse of cattle at a New Mexico livestock auction, a state Assembly panel rejected legislation that would have required slaughterhouses to install surveillance cameras.

SB 200 would have required cameras to follow the movement of cattle through the slaughterhouse to prevent any mistreatment. The tapes would have been up for review by the California Department of Public Health. However, the bill failed to move past the Assembly to an appropriations committee June 25. That would have been the final step toward passage, according to Sen. Dean Florez's office.

Florez authored the bill, and his spokesperson said he plans to reintroduce the bill next year.

A transcript from the legislative hearings indicates that several animal-welfare groups, as well as the San Bernadino County district attorney, supported the bill. However, pork, poultry, dairy, cattle and other food-animal groups and the California Chamber of Commerce were opposed, claiming the surveillance would divulge "proprietary secrets."

Video footage showing alleged cattle abuse released by the HSUS last year resulted in the largest recall of beef in U.S. history. The Assembly last month passed a bill making it a crime to sell or distribute beef from cows too weak to stand. The state Senate is reviewing that bill.