Back in 2008, this Humane Society video of a Southern
California slaughterhouse showed forklifts moving downed cattle too
sick to move themselves. That led to a California law
requiring federally inspected slaughterhouses to euthanize downed
livestock to keep the meat out of the nation's food system.
It passed the legislature nearly unanimously - and
then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it. But the
National Meat Association challenged it, arguing that federal law
prevents states from imposing their own rules. And the U.S.
Supreme Court unanimously agreed.
The National Meat Association says it "couldn't be more
pleased" with the ruling. The Humane Society calls the
decision "deeply troubling."