Princess Bednarski, Livestock Manager for the Houston Humane Society (HHS), has renewed support for a 2-year-old petition from Animal Partisan to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), calling for a policy statement clarifying the ability of state law enforcement officials to enforce state anti-cruelty laws.
Richmond, VA-based Animal Partisan, describes itself as a legal advocacy organization focused on creatively utilizing the legal system to disrupt the U.S. animal agribusiness industry. HHS is an animal shelter and veterinary clinic in Houston, involved in the rehabilitation and treatment of animals, including some farm animals.
The Animal Partisan petition (No. 23-07) requests that FSIS issue a notice to convey that: 1) State government officials are not categorically preempted from enforcing state anti-cruelty laws by the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and 2) FSIS personnel should cooperate with state government officials in the enforcement of state anti-cruelty laws and improve clarity and frequency of communication (i.e., Letters of Concern (“LOC”)) to those officials.
During 2023 and 2024, numerous other animal welfare organizations commented in support of the Animal Partisan petition. Those included the National Animal Care and Control Association, the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic, and the Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare Institute, and others.
However, it has been almost a year since anyone has commented on the petition. FSIS received the HHS comments on June 23, 2025
In that letter, HHS says it “strongly believes that any effort by FSIS to provide clarity to state law enforcement officials as to their ability to enforce state anti-cruelty laws is very worthwhile, as it would help eliminate confusion and result in improved welfare for farm animals.”
“Texas has several animal protection laws that apply to farm animals, but which may be underenforced due to concern that doing so may interfere with the USDA’s jurisdiction,” the HHS Livestock manager wrote.
“We support Animal Partisan’s petition and encourage FSIS to issue a policy statement clarifying that state law enforcement officials are not automatically preempted from enforcing state anti-cruelty laws,” the manager continued. “We also urge FSIS to work more closely with state law enforcement officials to better enforce these laws in cases involving farm animals.”
The HHS letter said approval of the petition would “improve interactions with law enforcement and alleviate the suffering of farm animals that are subject to cruelty or neglect.”
FSIS received the Animal Partisan Petition on Sept. 2, 2023. It was assigned to the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development for review. The HHS letter indicates that the petition generated supportive comments over a three-year period, but there is no indication that FSIS will approve it.
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