After the discovery of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) in a cow in Washington state in December, 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented an interim rule prohibiting the slaughter of downed cattle for human food. In light of this new policy, Farm Sanctuary has settled a lawsuit that it had brought against USDA seeking to prohibit the slaughter of downed animals for human food.

As part of the settlement, the USDA explicitely acknowledged the link between downed animals, mad cow disease, and a fatal human illness called variant Cruetzfeld-Jakob disease. The agreement states: "The USDA acknowledges that the appearance of variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a degenerative brain disease in humans, has been linked to exposure to BSE, probably through human consumption of beef and beef products contaminated with the BSE-causing agent. The USDA also acknowledges that studies from Europe appear to show that non-ambulatory cattle, or "downed" cattle, have a greater incidence of BSE than other cattle, and, moreover, that the clinical signs of BSE cannot always be observed in cattle. As a result of the foregoing, on January 12, 2004, the USDA announced the Interim Final Rule, banning downed cattle from entering the human food supply. As of the date of this Settlement Agreement, the Interim Final Rule remains in effect...."

Farm Sanctuary will continue to monitor USDA to insure that it's policy against slaughtering downed cattle for human food will remain in effect.