12-18 IAT Shipping Beef

I saw this article that said the proper handling of cattle during loading and transport to slaughter facilities can alleviate dark cutting beef, bruises and damaged limbs and ensure carcass quality. The University of Idaho's Beef Quality Assurance program spells out what producers and feedlots should and should not be doing when moving cattle to slaughter facilities. I called Executive Director of the Idaho Cattlemen's Association, Wyatt Prescott: "As an industry, we are extremely diligent in the care of our animals for part of that reason. What I am assuming you are referring to is talking about bruising on the beef carcass. Of course if you take a cow and jam him into a close space it's kind of like somebody slugging your shoulder, you will get a little bruise there and that absolutely happens with cows. That is why we have the Beef Quality Assurance and our producers are Beef Quality Assurance certified and we take regular course work on animal handling and hauling and loading and there our hauling certifications in being able to handle those animals and get them loaded on the truck without any of that bruising and as safely and humanely as possible. As an industry we are promoting and pushing and are very actively involved in the program of Beef Quality Assurance so we don't have any of that. We want to be sure that the animals receive the best quality of care possible."