Tags: farm animal welfare factory farm agribusiness MORE

ANIMAL rights groups have begun a campaign against the dairy industry's treatment of bobby calves. Animals Australia has a video on its website showing calves being roughly dragged off utes and thrown to the ground. RSPCA scientific officer (farm animals) Melina Tensen said there had been no independently funded research into the effects of leaving calves unfed for 30 hours. australia calves cows farm animal welfare MORE

Here's an example of "joint costs" that says all you need to know about animals as nothing more than inputs in a manufacturing process. Each product must be assigned a cost including the different cuts of meat for human consumption, different food products for animal consumption (pet food) and basic ingredients for glue.". economics cows farm animal welfare agriculture accounting MORE

This is one of my favorite responses from omnivores when they find out that I would love it if the whole world stopped eating animals. “But what would we do with all the animals that are currently on farms? You want all the farm animals to just die ?&#. Yes, that is why I’m vegan - because I’d like all the farm animals to DIE! Many farmed animals would be able to do the same if given the opportunity. MORE

Not the solution or end to factory farming, but if big ag can't rely on antibiotics, then they may have to rethink the filthy conditions of factory farms. Animals would get sick much easier, possibly affecting the bottom line of profit above all. Tags: antibiotics farm animal welfare factory farm It could effect some small amount of improvement.maybe. If the FDA's recommendation is accepted. From Opposing Views.com. MORE

Farm Sanctuary has a cool "Adopt-a-Turkey" project. turkeys farm animal welfare farm sanctuary thanksgiving turkey massacreI definitely want to do this. MORE

Animal welfare groups led by the Humane Society of the United States have agreed to abandon a fall ballot issue against animal cruelty as part of a deal with state farm groups brokered by Gov. Ted Strickland.The deal calls for Strickland, the Humane Society, the Ohio Farm Bureau and their partners to join forces in favor of tougher laws governing farm animals, including provisions that ban certain crates and cages and the use of strangulation as a form of euthanasia. MORE

downed animals USDA gene bauer farm animal welfare farm sanctuaryHard to read emotionally, but short and informative. Written by Gene Bauer and appearing in the Huffington Post. MORE

Tags: animal abuse eggs farm animal welfare factory farm chickens MORE

California really is at the forefront of animal welfare and this is an excellent article detailing what's going on in the State and the challenges animal welfare faces. california legislation humane society farm animal welfare animal welfareIt also does a great job at profiling Jennifer Fearing who led the victory of Proposition 2. She sounds amazing. MORE

Now, I think they're wonderful and we sponsor Camilla the Chicken through Farm Sanctuary's animal sponsorship program. farm animal welfare chickens animal emotionsHere's an article from the Telegraph regarding chickens feeling empathy. The research is from the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol. I used to hate chickens as a child and thought they were irritating. MORE

battery hens eggs egg production hens farm animal welfare agriculture agribusiness chickensSurprising to me at least. The editorial advocates a national standard that establishes humane standards in all parts of the country. MORE

Another nasty farm animal abuse story. Bottom line: If you’re running a business where you allow the kinds of shortcuts that let animal abuse happen, please sell it and leave the industry now. Tags: PETA farm animal welfare thanksgiving turkey massacre Overlooked this one. Whatever you think about PETA, I admire them for exposing this crap. It's even got Chuck Jolley from the Cattle Network riled up. MORE

Here's a book that you can buy about rescued farm animals and their stories. farm animal welfare farm sanctuaryLove this group! It should be inspiring and it's a great way to support an extraordinary organization. MORE

How many people know this about the Animal Welfare Act? No wonder there is so much "farm" animal abuse out there. Humane treatment runs counter to the entire industry when the point is to make money by processing these animals as fast as possible. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “farm animals are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) only when used in biomedical research, testing, teaching and exhibition. MORE

Gene Bauer from Farm Sanctuary appears in this article. I went to a restaurant for a work lunch and everyone ate meat but me, even the animal lovers. meat farm animal welfare factory farm farm sanctuaryPretty intense, but I hope people read it. There is a disturbing hedonism to eating. We just don't think about where that flesh came from.and most of us don't care. MORE

Issue 2 in Ohio would create 13-member state board to oversee the care of farm animals in the State. The Humane Society and other groups oppose it as a power grab by big agriculture to prevent another Proposition 2 (the initiative passed last year in California to improve standards for farm animal care.) Tags: ohio farm animal welfare us agribusiness MORE

It's in response to the HBO film "Death on a Factory Farm." The Pork Board has planned delegate meetings at the {annual Pork Industry} forum to discuss quality assurance rules including animal handling, and how much money to allocate to promote animal welfare. Our Pork Quality Assurance Plus and Transport Quality Assurance Programs are designed to demonstrate the care we are giving to our animals everyday on our farms," Cunningham said. MORE

Thanks to Mercy for Animals for their undercover work exposing this egg industry practice. Tags: animal cruelty eggs farm animal welfare factory farm What a subject line, but it's true. This is the second time this year that I've heard of this group capturing headlines. I'd never heard of them before. I'm very impressed by their courage and tenacity. MORE

farm animal welfare farm sanctuaryThis sounds wonderful. It will be in Arlington, VA at the end of October. Someday, if it becomes an annual event, I hope I can go. link]. MORE

From the Farm Sanctuary. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Meredith Turner, Farm Sanctuary, 646-369-6212, mturner@farmsanctuary.org 2011 Walk for Farm Animals Aims to Raise $1 Million for Abused and Neglected Farm Animals Thousands of People in More Than 35 Cities Across North America to Gather for Family-Friendly Event That Promotes Compassion for ALL Animals WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. farm animal welfare farm sanctuary MORE

Animal rights advocates have singled out the crates, known as sow stalls, as inhumane, and several states have moved to ban or restrict their use not only in pork production, but also in the production of eggs and veal. pigs mcdonalds farm animal welfare factory farm agriculture agribusinessI'm no fan of McDonalds, but any little bit of help is progress. Here's an excerpt. For the full story, check out this link to the New York Times article. MORE

Thanks to Farmed Animal Net for this information from August 8. In a unanimous decision, New Jersey’s Supreme Court rejected a broad challenge by animal protection advocates to the state’s rules on the care of farmed animals) but struck down regulations that regard husbandry practices as being “humane” merely because they are routine. Department of Agriculture (NJDA) was ordered to readdress a number of its mandated standards for farmed animal treatment. MORE

Once again, the wonderful Mercy for Animals provides footage of possible abuse of turkeys at a Butterball farm in North Carolina. meat mercy for animals turkeys North Carolina farm animal welfareThe full story is at CNN. MORE

California dairy farmers have an ad campaign that cows are just darn happy on their factory farms. california advertising cows PETA farm animal welfare dairyPETA is not convinced. This article about the situation appears in the Merced Sun-Star which is from my home county of Merced! MORE

There are no happy farm animals, you liars. Clearly the animal rights community is much more emboldened and aggressive than they have been in the past," said {National Milk Producers Federation} spokesman Chris Galen. "We Tags: farm animal welfare factory farm agribusiness They are fighting back due to all the information and images that have made it to the public sphere. And people are seeing it. MORE

More great undercover work though by Mercy for Animals. Tags: New York tail docking farm animal welfare Just awful. MORE

Yesterday, I raised the issue that some may think the Humane Society copped out by making a deal with Ohio agriculture and NOT bringing new animal welfare regulations to the ballot. Tags: ohio humane society farm animal welfare agriculture agribusiness Well, it looks like, on the other side, big agriculture and others of that ilk feel like Ohio ag itself made a deal with the devil by entering this agreement. MORE

It's bad enough having to deal with the welfare of normal farm animals, but what about the welfare of cloned animals? Concerns surround the ethics of the process, the welfare of the animals and a lack of research on food safety. If this policy is adopted, European farms could be populated by cloned supersize animals used as breeding stock for cows, pigs and sheep that are reared for food. Tags: europe cloning farm animal welfare MORE

Brown, a case in which the meat industry is attempting to invalidate a California law designed to reduce animal suffering and protect public safety. At issue is Section 599f of the California Penal Code, which, among other things, prohibits slaughterhouses from purchasing, receiving, selling, dragging, or pushing non-ambulatory animals, also known as “downers,” and requires immediate euthanasia of such animals. Did anyone know this was going on? MORE

mexico meat horses horse slaughter Slaughterhouse farm animal welfare united statesThis article reaffirms my belief that it's more humane to slaughter horses in the US than to ship them for slaughter to Canada or Mexico. I don't like it either way, but one is better than the other for sure. MORE

Safeway and Kroger have announced they're halting all purchases of the farm's pork. Mercy for Animals is trying to convince Costco to do the same. mercy for animals Iowa pigs pork farm animal welfare factory farmNews story is from the end of June. Almost let that one slip by! MORE

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Tags: europe pigs castration farm animal welfare belgium agribusiness MORE

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World Farm Animals Day was today. Tags: depressed farm animal welfare Perhaps it's because of gloomy October or maybe it's because I'm getting over the flu, but I felt very sad. There was a picture on the bus commemorating the event with a picture of a cow looking, dare I say it, noble and long-suffering. But I just kept wondering if anyone besides me on that bus cared? How depressing. MORE

He asked whether cows, chickens, sheep and some of the other animals that we eat are usually treated and killed in a humane manner. The meat industry will say yes, of course, all animals are treated and killed humanely. For some people, it is inhumane to eat meat in any situation, no matter how well the animal is treated prior to and during slaughter. For other people, “humane” means it is okay to eat the animal as long as the following conditions are met: 1. MORE

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Tags: animal abuse animal cruelty pigs farm animal welfare MORE

The problem of the unjust use of farm animals is large, growing, historical, institutionalized, governmentally encouraged, and fundamentally unregulated at either the state or federal level. Farm animals are treated essentially as raw materials. Their interests are primarily protected, if at all, through archaic state anti-cruelty statutes that were not passed in contemplation of the factory-farm or genetic engineering. MORE

A new study, published online in Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, suggests that animal assisted therapy for people with mental disorders can be effective with farm animals. After six months of animal assisted therapy with farm animals, all patients reported significantly increased coping skills. Tags: animal-assisted therapy farm animal welfare It's not just cats and dogs! MORE

The inspectors found nothing wrong, but at least they responded to the issues raised by Animal Angels, based in Germany. My 2010 resolution is to try and track animal rights issues in the homelands of Spain and Portugal. Tags: europe portugal farm animal welfare This happened earlier in the month, but I'm posting it anyway. Spain is much more advanced than Portugal in this area, but both need improvement (as do we all.). MORE

A press release I received from the Farm Sanctuary. Animal Welfare Groups Win Industry Backing for First-Ever Federal Regulation of Hen Welfare Groundswell of Public Support Results in Full Court Press for Nationwide Law Protecting Chickens to Replace State-by-State Initiatives WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. July 8, 2011 – In a groundbreaking move that should result in the greatest advancement for farmed animals in U.S. battery hens legislation farm animal welfare farm sanctuary MORE