--- title: Veal Calves: USDA Proposes More Humane Treatment description: At issue is whether the calves can walk at the time of slaughter canonical: https://time.com/3852133/veal-calves/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-08T17:22:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T01:47:32.000Z article:section: Health og:title: USDA Proposes More Humane Treatment of Veal Calves og:description: At issue is whether the calves can walk at the time of slaughter og:url: https://time.com/3852133/veal-calves/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcca98d58b5c55c3d/6987eeff3c16392d93455ebf/veal-calves.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: FRANCE-GASTRONOMY-CHEESE-CAMEMBERT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: USDA Proposes More Humane Treatment of Veal Calves twitter:description: At issue is whether the calves can walk at the time of slaughter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcca98d58b5c55c3d/6987eeff3c16392d93455ebf/veal-calves.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # USDA Proposes More Humane Treatment of Veal Calves by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:47 AM UTCPublished: May 8, 2015 5:22 PM UTC  Veal calves eat straw in a dairy farm on April 18, 2013 in Vimoutiers, northwestern France. Veal calves eat straw in a dairy farm on April 18, 2013 in Vimoutiers, northwestern France.Charly Triballeau—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:47 AM UTCPublished: May 8, 2015 5:22 PM UTC **Correction appended, May 8, 2015** The USDA wants to [change the rules on how calves are slaughtered for veal](http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-and-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2015/nr-050815-01), saying new regulations would make the process more humane. The proposal comes from the department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which says veal calves that are unable to stand up and walk should not be slaughtered for food. Currently, veal calves that cannot walk are set aside to rest, and if they recover, they can still be slaughtered. Under the proposed rules, the calves that cannot walk would be euthanized instead. Regulators are concerned that the current rules allow the slaughter of calves that can’t walk because they’ve been mistreated. Changing the regulation would discourage this mistreatment of the animals. FSIS will take comments on the proposal for 60 days, then will decide whether to change the regulation. **Correction:** The original version of this story incorrectly described the USDA’s position. 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