Current Use
Today, pithing is not practiced on animals intended for the human food supply because it may lead to the spread of fragments of neural matter through the carcass, but this method is encouraged for animals in emergency or disease control situations where the meat will not be consumed. USA regulations are currently in place disallowing importation of beef from cows which have been killed in this manner, due to risk of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow") disease. The European Union has also banned the practice on animals intended for human consumption.
Read more about this topic: Pithing
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“This is no argument against teaching manners to the young. On the contrary, it is a fine old tradition that ought to be resurrected from its current mothballs and put to work...In fact, children are much more comfortable when they know the guide rules for handling the social amenities. It’s no more fun for a child to be introduced to a strange adult and have no idea what to say or do than it is for a grownup to go to a formal dinner and have no idea what fork to use.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)