Pigs and Public Health Act

Pigs and Public Health Act is a proposed federal bill that would overhaul how nonambulatory pigs are handled across the U.S. food system. Key aims include removing nonambulatory pigs from the food supply, tightening humane handling and slaughter practices, restricting the use of certain drugs in pigs, strengthening transportation and workplace safety standards, and increasing public health transparency and whistleblower protections. The bill would create new regulations under existing animal welfare and health laws (by adding provisions to the Animal Health Protection Act, the Animal Welfare Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and the Federal Meat Inspection Act) and would require an OSHA-style safety standard for handling nonambulatory pigs, as well as an online confidential complaint portal and related reporting. If enacted, the measure could substantially shift industry practices (e.g., euthanizing nonambulatory pigs, banning growth-promoting beta-adrenergic drugs absent disease, and enforcing stricter transport and labor standards) with potential impacts on animal welfare, worker safety, food safety, and costs for producers, processors, and transport providers. It also creates new channels for public complaints and whistleblower protections, plus a mandatory study on the public health threat posed by nonambulatory pigs in the food system.