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 Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) reintroduced the Pigs and Public Health Act. This piece of legislation would require a joint report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that tracks pathogens associated with nonambulatory, or “downed” pigs. The bill aims to establish improved, species-specific regulations ensuring proper handling and humane treatment of downed pigs – swine that cannot stand or walk unassisted– during transport, slaughter, and on-farm with the goal of reducing downed pigs from entering the food supply and threatening public health.

“For years, Congress has failed to support regulations in the U.S. pork industry that ensure safe working conditions, the prioritization of public health, and humane treatment for farmed animals," said Congresswoman Escobar. "The risk that downed pigs pose to public health continues to be unaddressed even as we see the rise of animal-based illnesses like bird flu and maintained use of a factory farming model that increases the likelihood of infectious diseases in humans from animal origins. That is why the Pigs and Public Health Act is such an important step in the right direction.”

“Downed pigs suffer some of the worst abuses in the animal agriculture industry,” said Alicia Prygoski, Strategic Legislative Affairs Manager at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “This is not only needlessly cruel but creates a breeding ground for zoonotic pathogens, risking disease spread in our food system and beyond. The Pigs and Public Health Act will make meaningful, common-sense changes, by not only requiring more humane treatment of pigs at slaughter, but by protecting public health from the risk of foodborne illness and zoonotic disease spread, such as swine and avian flu. The Animal Legal Defense Fund applauds Congresswoman Escobar’s steadfast leadership to ensure that some of the most exploited animals in our food system are afforded protections, and that consumers, who value and deserve a more humane food system, are protected as well.”

“For years, experts have warned about the zoonotic disease threat factory farming poses. With the current, unprecedented outbreak of bird flu in the United States, it is past time for the federal government to address public health threats born of industrial animal agriculture,” said Frances Chrzan, senior federal policy manager, Mercy For Animals. “Mercy For Animals commends Congresswoman Escobar (D-TX) for her unwavering commitment to protecting public health and her reintroduction of the Pigs and Public Health Act in Congress, which targets the most vulnerable pigs — those too sick, injured or weak to stand. If passed, the bill would empower agricultural workers to report human rights and animal welfare violations and require the government to track pathogens linked to downed pigs. Mercy For Animals urges Congress to take these proactive steps to prevent future pandemic risks.”

Congresswoman Escobar has a long record of supporting preventative measures that protect workers, consumers, and farmed animals of the U.S. pork industry, including the reintroduction of the PIGS Act earlier this year. In a bipartisan statement released in December 2023 the Congresswoman stressed the need for immediate reforms to Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, and Under Secretary for Food Safety, José Emilio Esteban.

The Pigs and Public Health Act is co-sponsored by Representatives Jim McGovern and Jerry Nadler.

Full text of the bill can be found here.