CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

2. Overview of Food Animal Slaughter in the
United States
In the United States, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspects most
meat, poultry and processed egg products for safety and proper labeling. This agency
also is charged with inspecting slaughtering practices to ensure that “livestock” is killed
by humane methods. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the USDA
regularly reports data related to the numbers of different animal species slaughtered for
food in the United States, as well as the location—both by state and by type of slaughter
facility—where animals are killed. This section presents a summary of the most current
slaughter data available from NASS.
2.1 Animals slaughtered
For the most part, NASS reports data on animals slaughtered in commercial
establishments; however, estimates are made on the number of animals slaughtered on
the farm. 4 Table 1 below gives total numbers of U.S. meat animals, excluding birds,
slaughtered in 2006. 5 Table 2 presents a breakdown by state for the year 2006.
Table 1. U.S. Livestock Slaughter by Species
2006
Species Total Commercial a Farm Total Slaughter
Cattle 33,698,300 152,000 33,850,300
Calves 711,300 37,000 748,300
Hogs 104,736,600 108,000 104,844,600
Sheep 2,698,500 69,000 2,767,500
Total 141,844,700 366,000 142,210,700
Notes
a Includes slaughter at federal, state and custom slaughter establishments.
Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Livestock Slaughter: 2006 Summary, March 2007, p. 3.
4 Farm slaughter is done primarily for home consumption; it includes mobile custom slaughtering, but excludes
custom slaughter performed for farmers at commercial establishments.
5 Animals who die or are killed on the farm due to injury or disease are not included in the totals. Moreover,
neither equine species nor rabbits and other traditionally non-domesticated animals, such as bison, antelope,
reindeer, elk and deer, are included.
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