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May 09, 2008 (Albuquerque Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A video of seriously ill cattle at livestock auctions in New Mexico and several other states is renewing calls for stricter regulations on "downer" cattle -- animals too sick to move or stand on their own.

The Humane Society of the United States is distributing a videotape of what appear to be suffering downer cattle in April and May at auctions in four states.

The video shows two downer cattle lying in a crowded pen at the Clovis Livestock Auction in eastern New Mexico.

The Humane Society said the "two downed cows were filmed over a period of five hours. One was suffering from obvious pain, flailing her legs as she expelled watery feces into the pen where other cows were held for auction."

A phone call seeking comment from Clovis Livestock Auction owner/manager Charlie Rogers was not returned Thursday.

He told the Clovis News Journal on Wednesday that his facility does not accept downer cattle from shippers, and that cattle that become ill at the facility are euthanized quickly.

Unhealthy cattle can be more susceptible to diseases and bacterial contamination.

Scenes similar to the ones in Clovis were taped at The Livestock Exchange in Hereford, Texas -- 55 miles northeast of Clovis -- at the Westminster auction in Maryland and at Greencastle Livestock Auction in Pennsylvania.

"This has to stop immediately," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a news release.

He noted that a similar investigation in January led to the closure of the Westland/ Hallmark slaughter plant in Chino, Calif., and the recall of 143 million pounds of meat, much of which went to school lunch programs. Online Go to the Journal Web site at ABQJournal.com to link to the video of downer cattle in N.M. and other states.

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