Oregon lawmakers have approved a bill that would create new fines for mishandling sick farm animals.
State law already requires businesses to quarantine their diseased livestock, and state regulators can order that the animals are treated for their illnesses or euthanized.
However, if someone refuses to follow the orders, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has said it sometimes has to rely on a criminal process to get them to comply.
Senate Bill 832 would create new civil penalties for these disease-related offenses, with a maximum fine of either $1,000 or $5,000, depending on the violation.
At an Oregon Senate hearing earlier this year, ODA Director Lisa Charpilloz Hanson said the current laws are old. She said these changes would bring the code closer to how the agency does its other regulatory processes.
“It’s not about new regulations. It's not about adding regulation," said Charpilloz Hanson. "It's about adjusting a tool in the toolkit to assure compliance with our laws.”
The bill would also create new civil fines around feeding pigs potentially harmful garbage. In Oregon, swine can eat discarded vegetable matter, but only from some sources, like a home or canning facility.
Also included in the measure are fines for animal feed production violations, which could reach up to $10,000.
The measure passed both chambers with broad, bipartisan support and now awaits Gov. Tina Kotek’s signature.
