Hen welfare updates

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2012:


Los Angeles U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter on September 12, 2012 dismissed a case brought by the California Association of Egg Farmers which sought to overturn the hen housing requirements of Proposition Two, passed by voters in November 2008, as unconstitutionally vague.  The focal question, Walter found, was whether Proposition Two required California egg farms to be cage-free.  “There is nothing in the language of Proposition Two that requires California egg farms to be cage-free,” Walter concluded. “The statute is clear that, provided the cage does not prevent the egg-laying hen from lying down, standing up, fully extending her limbs and wings without touching the side of the cage or other egg-laying hens, or turning in a complete circle without any impediment and without touching the side of the cage, the use of such a cage would not violate Proposition Two.”  Walter added that the answer to the question of how much space this actually requires “is certainly not a mystery and is capable of easy determination by egg farmers.” Read more

Let us not call for donor support for small farmers

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

Let us not call for donor support for small farmers

By Erika Abrams, cofounder, Animal Aid

Like many and perhaps most grassroots animal advocates, I appreciate the tremendous work that the Humane Society of the U.S. and their global arm, Humane Society International, does for all animals, including cattle and chickens. I want to say at the outset that any of the following discussion that appears to be a “welfare versus rights” argument is not offered to enhance that sense of versus, because I don’t much believe in it. I see that HSUS/HSI, like other organizations campaigning on behalf of chickens, are helping to raise consciousness that people can make choices, with their pocketbooks and what is served on their plates, that have a positive influence on the well-being of animals. Read more

EDITORIAL: Agribusiness, green politics, & the art of compromise

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

Editorial feature: Agribusiness, green politics, & the art of compromise

KFC sells dead chickens from 17,000 sales outlets in 105 nations. Part of the $66.5-billion-a-year PepsiCo. empire, KFC boasts revenue in the U.S. alone of $4.6 billion.

Founded by honorary Colonel Harlan Sanders in 1952 as Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC would not appear to need much help defending itself in any defensible cause. Even a 10-year-old PETA “Kentucky Fried Cruelty” campaign, attacking abuses in the KFC supply chain that were captured on video camera, appears to have accomplished relatively little against KFC corporate intransigence. Nonetheless, the far-right advocacy front Consumers Alliance for Global Prosperity on June 11, 2012 appealed to supporters and media to “Help Fight The Attack On The Colonel!” Read more

Farm Bill stall delays Congressional action on horse slaughter, attending animal fights, & laying hen cage size

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July/August 2012:

Farm Bill stall delays Congressional action on horse slaughter, attending animal fights,  & laying hen cage size

    WASHINGTON D.C.–The odds may have lengthened just before the Fourth of July recess week against the final version of the 2012 Farm Bill including measures favored by animal advocates–but not for any reason having anything to do with laying hen cage sizes,  horse slaughter,  or cockfighting and dogfighting,  among other topics addressed by proposed Farm Bill amendments. Read more

California foie gras ban takes effect

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

California foie gras ban takes effect

LOS ANGELES–A California law forbidding the sale of foie gras took effect on July 1, 2012, almost eight years after passage–and was challenged in court less than 24 hours later by plaintiffs including Hot’s Restaurant Group, the foie gras trade organization Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec, and Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the upstate New York firm that is the largest foie gras producer in North America. Read more

Cattle gifts put habitat, humans, and animals at risk in southern India

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

Cattle gifts put habitat, humans, and animals at risk in southern India

KOCHI, Kerala, India–A livestock gift scheme meant to increase the incomes of 30 families living within the nominally protected Vazhachal Forest, within the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve buffer zone, is putting the forest, the families, and the donated cattle at risk, Wildlife Division of the Kerala Forest Research Institute chief E.A. Jayson told K.S. Sudhi of The Hindu in May 2012. Read more

Animals’ Angels of Germany finds EU livestock haulers come up short

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Animals’ Angels of Germany finds EU livestock haulers come up short

FRANKFURT–“Despite increased enforcement efforts,  livestock transporters and organizers still do not comply with the very basic requirements of European Union legislation on the protection of animals during transport,”  charged the German charity Animals’ Angels in a May 2012 document entitled Report on insufficient internal heights in long distance transports of cattle from Estonia,  Hungary and Slovakia to Turkey, observed between 16th and 19th April, 2012. Read more

Fire kills 500,000 hens

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Fire kills 500,000 hens

 ROGGEN,  Colorado–An April 30,  2012 fire at the Boulder
Valley Poultry egg farm razed three of the 10 barns at the facility,
killing nearly half a million of the one million resident hens.  Fire
crews from Wiggins,  Hudson,  and Fort Lupton fought the blaze,
which attracted a large crowd,  including an  unidentified lone
demonstrator who stood with a sign reading “Save the Chickens,”
reported Sharon Dunn of the Greeley Tribune.

The American SPCA grants $151,000 to help a poultry producer expand operations

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

The American SPCA grants $151,000 to help a poultry producer expand operations

NEW YORK CITY-American SPCA farm animal welfare campaign director Suzanne McMillan on May 15, 2012 announced a $151,100 grant to the five-year-old nonprofit organization Farm Forward,  to be used “to promote humane poultry welfare at the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch
in Lindsborg,  Kansas.” Read more

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