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Landmark Report Supports Prohibition of Cruel Farming Practices: Tell Your Lawmakers Today!
April 29, 2008
The Pew Charitable Trusts is a prestigious philanthropic organization dedicated to serving the public interest, especially when it comes to current issues that impact social welfare.
The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production was appointed to investigate the effects of factory animal farming on communities, human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Its members are comprised of experts, including former Kansas Governor John Carlin, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, former University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Dr. Michael Blackwell, and Colorado State University distinguished professor, Dr. Bernard Rollin.
The results of the Pew Commission's final report confirm what farm animal advocates have always known: industrialized farming harms animals, communities and the environment. Among many findings, the commission concluded that,
"Intensive confinement (e.g. gestation crates for swine, battery cages for laying hens) often so severely restricts movement and natural behaviors, such as the ability to walk or lie on natural materials, having enough floor space to move with some freedom, and rooting for pigs, that it increases the likelihood that the animals suffer severe distress."
The Pew Commission also concluded that the routine mutilation of animals on factory farms-like tail docking and debeaking without anesthesia- is unacceptable. The report denounced the routine, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animal feed too, and warned that antibiotics should only be given to animals to treat specific illnesses, not administered routinely, as they are now, just to head off illnesses often caused by intensively confining hundreds or thousands of animals together in the same living environment.
The report from the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production is considered a landmark study on farm animal welfare because it is the work of a broad coalition of unbiased experts and is based on the commissioners' visits to production facilities across the country; consultation with industry stakeholders and public health, medical and agriculture experts; public meetings, and peer reviewed technical papers. As a result, the Pew Commission's findings are a meaningful tool for advocates to use when urging lawmakers to advance legislation on the humane treatment of farm animals.
Download the Pew Commission's report.
What you can do
Please contact your U.S. representative today and let him or her know about the Pew Commission's report. Urge him or her to co-sponsor and move to enact the federal Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act, H.R. 1726! You can look up the names and contact information for all your federal legislators easily here. Calling your legislators is the most effective and simple way to reach them. Just tell the staff member answering the phone that you are calling to ask the senator [or representative] to support the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act. Point out that the recently-released Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production report provides evidence that supports aspects of H.R. 1726. If you live in California, please get active on the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act! This act, recently qualified for the November 2008 ballot, will go directly to the people of California for a vote. Like the Pew Commission's recommendations, this ballot initiative, if enacted, would phase out battery cages for egg-laying hens and gestation crates for pregnant pigs. Find out what you can do today! - Ask your state legislators to introduce or support pending legislation to address some of the issues in the Pew Commission's vital report and join efforts to ban cruel gestation crates or battery cages, prohibit the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras, stop the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics, or prohibit the tail docking of dairy cows or beak searing of birds. Check to see if there are bills on these issues pending in your state before you proceed. If there are no bills pending in your state, contact us at campaign@farmsanctuary.org for more information on what you can do!
Thank you for taking action today! Please spread the word about this report and urge people to ask questions about where their food is coming from. It is up to every one of us to make a difference for farm animals!
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