Perdue

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA San Francisco Division THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE Case No. 20-cv-01395-LB UNITED STATES, et al., 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS v. Re: ECF No. 25 SONNY PERDUE, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 INTRODUCTION The plaintiffs are non-profit organizations challenging rules set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on chicken-slaughter line speeds at certain chicken slaughterhouses. A 2014 regulation from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) allows line speeds of 140 chickens per minute. In 2018, FSIS began allowing waivers for slaughterhouses that permit line speeds of 175 chickens per minute. Then in 2022, after the change in leadership, the 2018 waivers were terminated and modified waivers were allowed under new criteria (though the new criteria incorporate the 2018 line-speed increase). The plaintiffs challenge the 2018…