One bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to head and establish a working group to address current laws that govern the transport of animals. The other loosens restrictions that could keep animals on trailers for long periods of times.
Joe Moore is Executive Vice President of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. He says members support the legislation.
“They raise these animals, and so the welfare of them is their upmost concern,” Moore says. “Not only from a financial standpoint, but from a humane standpoint. Nobody wants these animals to suffer.”
He says under current regulations, animals are not treated much differently than other cargo, and there are no rules dictating how they can be kept inside a trailer.
“Well as we all know how hot trailers can get in the summer or if we’re in the middle of winter and it’s ten below zero, that livestock’s mortality rate can increase incrementally,” Moore says.
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) is co-sponsoring one bill, and Moore says several Indiana Republicans support the House version.
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) did not respond to a request to clarify his position on either bill.
