September 29, 2004
Number 70, Volume 2


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Farmed Animal Watch is sponsored by Animal Place, Animal Welfare Trust, Farm Sanctuary, The Fund for Animals, Glaser Progress Foundation, Humane Society of the United States, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

1. IN-DEPTH: FARMED ANIMAL ANTI-CRUELTY LAWS

UNITED STATES

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the primary federal US law that governs ownership, care, and sale of animals and provides for criminal and civil penalties for violations. However, the AWA specifically and comprehensively exempts most of the animals bred in the US, including "farm animals, such as, but not limited to livestock or poultry, used or intended for use as food or fiber, or livestock or poultry used or intended for use for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber."

The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) was enacted in 1978 to ensure that the slaughter of animals for food involves methods that "prevent needless suffering" during handling and slaughter. However, the vast majority of animals killed each year in the US for food - chickens and turkeys who collectively account for more than 90% - are not covered by the HMSA. "Ritual slaughter and handling" such as Kosher slaughter is also specifically exempted from coverage under the HMSA.

The "Twenty-eight Hour Law of 1877" covers the transport of all animals, including farmed animals. The law states that animals cannot be carried by "rail carrier, express carrier or common carrier" for more than 28 hours without breaks of at least five hours for rest, water and food. The law does not apply to water- and air-based methods of transport, and there are some exemptions for certain species of animals.

Besides these federal laws, each US state has individual statutes covering the prevention of cruelty to animals. These statutes vary widely by state, but usually the anti-cruelty laws follow federal laws by largely excluding farmed animals from coverage. A few US states such as Iowa have adopted laws dealing specifically with cruelty to farmed animals.

Animal Law Resource Site, Michigan State University
http://www.animallaw.info/

Full text of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, Animal Law Resource Site
http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusfd7usca1901.htm

State Animal Cruelty Laws, Animal Protection Institute
http://www.api4animals.org/47.htm

Article: "Review of Farmed Animal Welfare Legislation," Tufts University, 1999, p. 57-68
PDF file, 328k: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/faw.pdf

Book: "Beyond the Law: Agribusiness and the Systemic Abuse of Animals Raised for Food or Food Production," David Wolfson, Esq., from Archimedian Press, 1996

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Laws addressing animal cruelty vary dramatically from country to country, with Europe in many ways representing the forefront of anti-cruelty regulations for farmed animals. Within Europe, each country has its own laws pertaining to farmed animals, and additional directives and protocols apply to European Union (EU) member states. To varying degrees, European laws govern the welfare of farmed animals as they are raised, during transport, and at the time of slaughter. The EU has enacted laws to ban the use of veal crates (from 2007), battery cages for egg-laying hens (from 2012), and gestation crates for breeding pigs (from 2013). Moreover, the EU formally recognizes animals as "sentient beings."

"European Union Law of the Welfare of Farm Animals," Compassion in World Farming, 2004
PDF file, 532k: http://ciwf.org/publications/reports/EU_Law_2004.pdf

"Farm Animal Welfare," UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/index.htm

"Summaries of Legislation: Animal Welfare," European Union
http://www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/s82000.htm

2. AVIAN INFLUENZA BELIEVED TO BE TRANSMITTED BETWEEN HUMANS

On September 28, 2004, health officials in Thailand confirmed that a 26-year-old woman died of contracting Avian Influenza from her 11-year-old daughter. Although this is Thailand's 29th human case of the disease this year, it represents the first known death from Avian Influenza transmitted by one human to another instead of from bird to human. In 1997, Hong Kong experienced an outbreak of Avian Influenza that resulted in human-to-human transmission, but the victims experienced only mild symptoms. Although the current case is believed to be an isolated incident, it is fueling concerns over the risk of a global pandemic due to animal disease mutations. Avian Influenza continues to be an issue for many Asian countries. Since early 2004, new outbreaks have been reported in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The most recent outbreak in Malaysia in mid-August 2004 has resulted in the culling of more than 11,000 birds; no humans have yet been infected.

"Human-to-Human Bird Flu Transmission Reported in Thailand," Meatingplace.com, Ann Bagel, September 29, 2004
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13123

"Thai Suspected Bird Flu Case Fans Human Link Fear," Planet Ark / Reuters, Vissuta Pothong, September 29, 2004
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27408/story.htm

"Avian Influenza: Situation Updates," World Health Organization, last update: September 28, 2004
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/updates/en/

"Over 11,000 Fowls Culled in Northern Malaysia," China View, September 27, 2004
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/26/content_2026033.htm

3. MORE BIRD NEWS: PHEASANT FARMING AND CHICKEN CRUELTY CASE

PHEASANTS: More than 150,000 pheasants are bred, raised, and released each year as part of a controlled hunting program for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. After being raised to adulthood in pens, the pheasants are "distributed to 10 locations across the state and released so hunters, for a $15 fee, can shoot them." 66,000 birds will be released under the program this year, but very few of them are expected to survive. Including being hunted, the pheasants die of predation, vehicle accidents, or seasonal conditions.

CRUELTY CASE: The prosecutor handling the investigation of abuse at a Pilgrim's Pride chicken slaughterhouse in Moorefield, West Virginia has stepped down due to a potential conflict of interest. Prosecutor Lucas See contacted the state bar association when learning that his father had been contacted by former Pilgrim's Pride workers, which resulted in his recusal from the case. Shortly after the release of undercover footage of the alleged cruelty, See claimed that it was not clear whether the action constituted "torture," as some animal activists have claimed. Also see FAW #61: http://www.farmedanimal.net/Newsletters/Newslettern61v2.htm#4.

"Activists Seek End to State Pheasant-Raising," Pantagraph.com, Kurt Erickson, September 26, 2004
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/092604/new_20040926027.shtml

"New Prosecutor will Handle Pilgrim's Pride Chicken Cruelty Case," Meatingplace.com, Ann Bagel, September 29, 2004
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13115

4. UK EXPORTED VCJD-TAINTED BLOOD TO ELEVEN COUNTRIES

According to Meatingplace.com, nine people from the UK who died of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD, the human form of "mad" cow disease) donated blood that was sent to eleven other countries. Quantities of potentially vCJD-tainted blood were sent from the UK to Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Singapore, Ireland, Egypt, India, Dubai, Oman, Brunei and Morocco. Six thousand blood donation recipients in the UK are at risk of contracting vCJD from the transfusion, along with an unknown number from the additional countries. The UK stopped exporting blood in 1999, but symptoms of vCJD may take up to thirty years to appear in humans. However, scientists in the UK have developed a test for the disease that can deliver results in as little as ten minutes. Based on two-year trials with both cows and humans, the test identifies vCJD based on a unique "signature pattern" in heart rhythm detected in human and animal victims.

"Britain May Have Sent vCJD-Tainted Blood to 11 Other Countries," Meatingplace.com, Pete Hisey, September 28, 2004
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13111

"Simple Test for vCJD Could be on the Horizon," Pete Hisey, Meatingplace.com, Pete Hisey, September 29, 2004
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13119

5. UPCOMING FARMED ANIMAL (AND RELATED) EVENTS

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit http://www.farmedanimal.net/events.shtml.

"World Farm Animals Day," FARM
October 2, observed internationally
http://www.wfad.org/

"Living with Livestock: Environment and Change"
October 5-7, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/livestockliv/index.html

"Animals in the Food System Conference"
November 3-4, 2004, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA
http://www.carrs.msu.edu/Conferences/index.asp

"Liberation Now! The National Student Animal Rights Conference," Student Animal Rights Alliance
October 29-31, 2004, Berkeley, California, USA
http://www.defendanimals.org/libnow/

6. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

"Mixing Milk and Politics," Chicago Tribune, Andrew Martin, September 25, 2004
A veteran economist from the US Department of Agriculture is being criticized for allegedly suggesting that the USDA manipulate dairy policies to encourage farmers to vote for the Republican incumbent for US President.
http://tinyurl.com/6yju4 (Chicago Tribune website)

"Calgary E. Coli Outbreak Spreads," Meatingplace.com, Pete Hisey, September 29, 2004
Canada: An outbreak of E.Coli in Calgary, Alberta has infected at least 47 people and hospitalized 3, as officials identify restaurant chains Wendy's and My Donair as possible sources.
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13121

"Burp Vaccine Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions," New Scientist, Rachel Nowak, September 22, 2004
Gaseous emissions from sheep, cows, and other farmed animals account for 20% of global methane pollution, a leading cause of global warming; a new vaccine may help.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99996431

"Pork Industry Structure Study, 2004," The PigSite, September 27, 2004
Results from the most recent wave of a survey of the US pig slaughter industry show dramatic concentration of farms and indicate that further concentration is likely to occur.
http://www.thepigsite.com/LatestNews/Default.asp?AREA=LatestNews&Display=8205

"Meateaters 'Consuming More Water'," The Australian News, September 27, 2004
The director of the International Water Management Institute says that an average American meat-based diet requires around 5,400 liters of water per day; a comparable vegetarian diet requires 2,600 liters a day.
http://tinyurl.com/3vxtt (TheAustralian.com website)




CONTENTS

  1. In-Depth: Farmed Animal Anti-Cruelty Laws

  2. Avian Influenza Believed to Be Transmitted Between Humans

  3. More Bird News: Pheasant Farming and Chicken Cruelty Case

  4. UK Exported vCJD-Tainted Blood to Eleven Countries

  5. Upcoming Farmed Animal (and Related) Events

  6. Other Items of Interest


RESOURCES

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Compiled and edited by Hedy Litke and Che Green, Farmed Animal Watch is a free weekly electronic news digest of information concerning farmed animal issues gleaned from an array of academic, industry, advocacy and mainstream media sources.

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