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Arizona Update 4/9/08: Speak Out Against Harmful Pro-Factory Farming Bill

Ignoring a flood of calls from concerned citizens, Arizona state legislators yesterday approved the pro-factory farm poultry husbandry bill, S.B. 1373. This legislation, introduced by Sens. Burns, Aguirre, Arzberger, and Flake, will prohibit city, state and county governments, as well as Arizona citizens, from enacting laws regarding how egg-laying hens are confined on factory farms. Only the Arizona Department of Agriculture will have authority over standards set for millions of animals in the state, preventing any improvements to farm animal protection policy.

If signed by Governor Napolitano, S.B. 1373 would uphold the factory farming industry's cruel status quo, ensuring that laying hens continue to be crammed into battery cages inside windowless, ammonia-filled warehouses, where they never see the light of day. In addition to allowing for the continued cruel treatment of hens, S.B. 1373 would prevent any regulation of the egg industry by a county, city, town, or other political subdivision of the state. It would also set a dangerous precedent that, if successful for Arizona's factory farming industry, is likely to be copied across the nation.

S.B. 1373 is yet another backlash against our recent success in Arizona, where the cruel factory farming practice of confining pigs in gestation crates has been banned. This legislation is a follow up to remove last year's SCR 1035, also pushed by Sen. Flake in 2006, which sought to nullify the citizen-passed citizen passed ballot initiative that reformed the factory hog farming industry by banning gestation crates in Arizona. S.B. 1373 seems to be crafted as a preemptive measure to stop the passage of a similar ban on battery cages in the state.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!
S.B. 1373 passed the House on April 7, 2008. It now heads to the Governor's desk, where we will have our last chance to stop it.

1. Find out who your Arizona state representative is by going to
   http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp



2. Please call Governor Janet Napolitano today and urge her to veto S.B. 1373. When calling, simply say:
   
   

   "Hi, my name is X and I a Arizona resident. I am calling to urge the Governor veto S.B. 1373 regarding poultry husbandry."
   If you volunteered on Prop. 204 (to ban gestation and veal crates) or any other initiative campaigns, please share your thoughts on the importance of Arizona's citizens' rights to protect farm animals from abusive practices.

   Governor Janet Napolitano:

   Telephone: 602-542-1318
   Toll Free 1-800-253-0883
   E-mail address: azgov@az.gov

   Office of Governor Janet Napolitano
   1700 West Washington-101A
   Phoenix, Arizona 85007

3. Follow up with a quick e-mail to the Governor, stating the same, and, if you like, include any of the talking points below explaining why S.B. 1373 should be vetoed.

Issue Talking Points

• Arizona's largest factory egg farm (Hickman's Family Farm) is scheduled to double in size in the next year, confining more than three million hens to cruel battery cages. It is obvious why the egg farm would be working hard to support S.B. 1373 - legislation that allows it to virtually ignore animal welfare concerns.
• While citizens and legislators are beginning to recognize that animal welfare policies are badly in need of reform, the Arizona Department of Agriculture is likely to grant factory farming interests overreaching power to regulate themselves and stifle public debate.
• S.B. 1373 will silence public debate over critical poultry welfare issues, such as battery cage confinement, mutilation procedures and inhumane transportation practices. Reforms passed by city, county or other local governments to address these issues will also be completely superseded by the rule of the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
• Battery caged hens are intensively confined. Unable to stand fully upright, stretch their wings, walk, or express most natural behaviors, the birds suffer from chronic stress and frustration, as well as osteoporosis, foot lesions and feather loss. Filthy living conditions make them further susceptible to infections and respiratory disease. If S.B. 1373 passes, the Arizona Department of Agriculture is likely to continue with the status quo and see to it that none of these abuses are addressed in any meaningful way.
• A national poll conducted in 2000 by Zogby, Int'l revealed that 86 percent of respondents considered the crowding of hens in battery cages to be "unacceptable." If this legislation is enacted, however, the Arizona Department of Agriculture is likely to oppose public opinion on this issue, gearing their efforts toward supporting the practices of agribusiness.