In " Move to Limit 'Factor Farms' Gains Momentum " in today's New York Times , we learn that farmers in Ohio have agreed to phase out gestation crates within 15 years and veal crates by 2017. I work with the hogs every day, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with gestation crates,” he said. MORE

Thus far, the state ballot initiatives and agreements that will expand space for chickens (as well as for gestating pigs and veal calves) are really very minor. To the Editor: Re “ A Hen’s Space to Roost ” (Week in Review, Aug. 15): We are glad to see an article describing the intensive confinement of egg-laying chickens, but we disagree when it says that animal advocates and consumers are “driving big changes” in the treatment of chickens. MORE

They do appear to wish to put an end to what they believe are the worst abuses of institutionalized animal agriculture, such as gestation crates and veal crates, but that's hardly a call to end animal agriculture. MORE

A giraffe’s gestation period is approximately 15 months, and the new baby will nurse for about one year. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a new baby reticulated giraffe just days ago. Weighing approximately 147 pounds at birth, the newborn is the calf of mother, Teesa, and father, Sterling. The addition brings Busch Gardens’ giraffe population to 15. MORE

Consider some of the victories: On November 5th, 2002, more than two and a half million Floridians voted "Yes" on Amendment 10 to amend the state constitution and prohibit the use of gestation crates , narrow metal cages where breeding pigs are kept for most of their lives. The proposition outlaws raising pregnant sows in gestation crates and raising calves in veal crates , making Arizona the first state in the Union to ban veal crates. MORE

From the press release: A giraffe’s gestation period is approximately 15 months, and the new babies will nurse for about one year. Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay recently welcomed two more baby giraffes, bringing the herd to 17! And they are super cute too! The giraffes joined the rest of the heard on the Serengeti Plain on July 13th. What is neat about giraffes is that it is common for other members of the herd to become involved with the care of newborns. MORE

The gestation period for this species is 9 to 9 ½ months. Busch Gardens welcomed a baby bongo to the park Sept. Bongo are native to the rain forests of Africa. Busch Gardens cares for the endangered Eastern Mountain subspecies of bongo. Their bright chestnut color becomes darker with age, and their body is highlighted with white stripes. Amber and her calf will join the Serengeti Plain in a few months after having some time to bond. MORE

It accepts completely the hype concerning a California ballot initiative that among other things bans gestation stalls for pregnant sows. 10, 2008 Note from KBJ: Speaking of rhetoric, don't you love "individual housing" for " gestation stalls "? To the Editor: “ Standing, Stretching, Turning Around ” (editorial, Oct. 9) does little to advance the debate on farm animal housing. MORE

Viewer discretion advised on the clip below… Tags: Animal Cruelty Animal Rights Animal Welfare Factory Farming Farmed Animals animal suffering gestation crates pigs videos Last night HBO premiered a show called Death on a Factory Farm. This is a small segment. I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, and am not sure if I’ll be able to stomach it, but I do have a friend recording it for me. Has anyone else seen it? What were your thoughts? MORE

A giraffe’s gestation period is 15 months, and the mother and baby will be kept out of view for the first three months so they can be watched closely. Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay welcomed a new baby female reticulated giraffe on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. At 5 foot, 7 inches tall and weighing approximately 127 pounds! That’s a big baby! The calf is the daughter of father, Jafari and mother, Tesa, who has previously given birth to four other calves at Busch Gardens. MORE

Six months into the shark’s gestation, the park’s animal team noticed a complication with her pregnancy and determined an emergency C-section was necessary. Orlando, Fla. August 6, 2013) – For the first time in SeaWorld’s history, a Cesarean section has been performed on a shark. A team of shark experts and veterinarians performed the groundbreaking procedure on a whitetip reef shark at Discovery Cove, SeaWorld’s sister park, in Orlando on July 18, 2013. MORE

The tiny cages and crates that confine about 90 percent of laying hens and more than 80 percent of gestating sows are both physically and mentally tormenting for the animals involved. To the Editor: As Mark Bittman rightly notes, California’s new farm animal welfare law presages what is coming for all farm animal industries nationally (“ Hens, Unbound ,” column, Jan. MORE

This week, Bon Appétit Management Company vowed that by 2015, none of the three million pounds of pork we serve a year (including 800,000 pounds of bacon) will come from hogs confined in gestation crates. Mr. Hurst flippantly questions the ability to measure a pig’s happiness, but sound science—not to mention common sense—clearly establishes that mother pigs locked in gestation crates with so little space that they cannot turn around for most of their lives do indeed suffer. MORE

The McDonald’s Corporation said on Monday that it would begin working with its pork suppliers to phase out the use of so-called gestational crates, the tiny stalls in which sows are housed while pregnant. McDonald’s believes gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future,” Dan Gorsky, senior vice president for supply chain management for McDonald’s North America, said in a statement. I'm no fan of McDonalds, but any little bit of help is progress. MORE