/>i- A Second Circuit panel held that animal welfare groups do not have standing (Law360 subscription required) to sue USDA for the Agency’s revised practices for inspecting pigs at slaughterhouses.
- The groups—Farm Sanctuary, Animal Equality, and Animal Outlook—challenged a 2019 rule that permits sorting pigs and disposing of “unfit” pigs before they are inspected by a USDA-trained inspector. According to the groups, the rule violates the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
- A New York federal court previously found that the groups did have standing and found in favor of USDA on the merits. However, on appeal, the Second Circuit determined that the groups’ argument that they will have to divert resources or their missions will be frustrated does not sufficiently allege a concrete injury; thus, the argument is inadequate to establish standing.
- According to the panel, all of the “alleged injuries to plaintiffs involve voluntary expenditures to advocate against policies embedded in the [rule] or the diversion of resources from other aspects of their missions to rescue pigs they allege will be affected by these new policies.” Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Second Circuit have previously found that these types of injuries are not enough to establish standing; instead, a “plaintiff must show far more than simply a setback to the organizations abstract social interests.”
2nd Circuit Finds Animal Groups Lack Standing to Challenge Swine Rule
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
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