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Ask San Joaquin County District Attorney to Enforce California's Downed Animal Protection Law

Farm Sanctuary is urging the San Joaquin County District Attorney in California to prosecute the Escalon Livestock Market for violating section 599(f) of California's penal code, which states,

No slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, or dealer shall hold a nonambulatory animal without taking immediate action to humanely euthanize the animal or remove the animal from the premises.

In January 2007, a Farm Sanctuary investigator discovered two downed animals (one cow and one calf) suffering terribly, unable to move and without food or water, at the Escalon Livestock Market. The suffering of one of these animals-a tiny calf later named Clover-is documented in Farm Sanctuary's new documentary investigating the dairy industry, Behind the Mustache.

When asked about the condition of the animals, an auction employee stated that the downed dairy cow had given birth earlier that morning and had then slipped and fell in the aisle, where she still laid hours later at the close of the auction. A young calf (whom we named "Clover") was also found immobile, and according to an auction employee, was headed for the auction's "dead pile."

The suffering of these animals is typical of what animals endure at auction yards, where countless unwanted, crippled and sick animals become "downed"-unable to stand or walk on their own. California is one of the few states that has a law specifically aimed at curtailing the suffering of downed animals. However, a law is only as good as its enforcement.

What You Can Do:

1. Please contact the San Joaquin County District Attorney and politely ask him to prosecute the Escalon Livestock Market for violating section 599f of California's Penal Code, as documented by Farm Sanctuary.
   

   James Willett, Esq.
   San Joaquin County District Attorney
   222 E Weber Ave Rm 202
   Stockton, CA 95202
   Fax: 209-465-0371

2. Please go to http://www.nodowners.org/how2help.htm to find out what else you can do to stop the suffering of animals who are too sick or injured to walk.