October 6, 2004
Number 71, Volume 2
Check out our website: www.FarmedAnimal.net
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Animal Watch is sponsored by Animal
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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
NOTE:
Farmed Animal Watch will not be published on October 13, 2004,
but will return on October 20 featuring a new and improved HTML format.
1. MORE FARMED ANIMAL LEGAL RESOURCES
Farmed Animal Watch #70 provided an in-depth look at farmed animal anti-cruelty laws (See http://www.farmedanimal.net/Newsletters/Newslettern70v2.htm). Another invaluable resource covering this topic can be found in "Foxes in the Hen House - Animals, Agribusiness, and the Law: A Modern American Fable," by David Wolfson and Mariann Sullivan. The text comes from a chapter in the book "Animal Rights," April 2004 by Oxford University Press.
Also, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has an in-depth review (PDF document, several hundred pages) covering state-by-state the anti-cruelty laws in the US. The report covers laws relating to animals in general, not specifically farmed animals. Requests can be emailed to the ALDF at info@aldf.org.
2. RISK OF BSE IN ANIMAL FEED RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENDERING
An October 2nd report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced that the Canadian cow discovered last year with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was rendered into animal feed, some of which may have been fed back to other cows. The CBC cites the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which has said that some farmers have used feed intended for chickens and pigs to feed cows intended for slaughter. The agency said as many as 1,800 farms could have purchased the feed; 200 operations have been inspected, with 3 quarantined and 63 cows killed as a precautionary measure. The Canadian government has been considering a ban on so-called specified risk materials, including the brains and spinal cords of cows, but no ban has yet been implemented. Subsequent reports have suggested that the BSE-infected cow, which was discovered in Alberta in 2003, was rendered and used in feed for chickens and turkeys, with little likelihood of being fed to other cows.
In response to the recent discovery, the Canadian government is again considering a ban on specified risk materials, with rules expected to be published "in the next few weeks." The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it is banning the use of any BSE-positive material in feed intended for all species of farmed animals. The FDA has not yet addressed the use of specified risk materials in animal feed, although it banned the feeding of rendered cows to other cows in 1996. Some consumer and environmental groups are calling for more stringent regulations, however, with some suggesting that no rendered animals should be used as feed for any other animals. According to a spokesperson for the Canadian Health Coalition, "The only way to stop the transmission is to stop recycling animal protein into herbivores."
"Canada's BSE Bovine was Rendered into Poultry Feed; US Clarifies Feed Rules," Meatingplace.com, Pete Hinsey, October 5, 2004
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13152
"Rules Banning BSE-Risk Materials from Animal Feed on the Way," CanadaEast.com, Tim Cook, October 2, 2004
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041001/CPN/44921025
"Rendering Under Scrutiny after Discovery of Mad Cow," Scripps Howard News Service, Lance Gay, September 30, 2004
http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=RENDERERS-09-30-04&cat=AN
"BSE-infected Cow May have Gotten into Animal Feed," CBC News, October 2, 2004
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/01/bse_041001.html
3. GENETICS: BOVINE GENOME; SALMONELLA RESEARCH
BOVINE GENOME: Researchers at universities in the US and Australia are nearing completion of sequencing of the bovine genome, which includes about 35,000 genes (the same number as the human genome). Baylor College in Houston, Texas says it has mapped 85% of the 10,000 bovine gene markers, or those genes that will have the most impact on producing desirable traits in cows used for beef and milk production. The bovine genome project is built upon findings from the three completed mammalian genome projects, including humans, rats, and mice.
SALMONELLA RESEARCH: Researchers at the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have sequenced the genome of the campylobacter bacteria after isolating the disease in the corpse of a "market chicken." Campylobacter is believed to be the world's leading cause of food-related illnesses, and chicken products are a primary source of exposure to the bacteria for consumers.
"Bovine Genome Mapped," Dairy Today eReport, October 1, 2004
http://www.agweb.com/pub_get_article.asp?sigcat=dairy&pageid=95165
"Cattle Genome to be Mapped," News.com, October 2, 2004
http://tinyurl.com/6sn2y (News.com.au
website)
"Scientists Decode Gene Sequence of Food-Poisoning Bacteria," just-food.com, October 5, 2004
http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=58839&dm=yes
4. EWG: "LIVESTOCK" SUBSIDIES APPROACHED $1 BILLION IN 2002
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) on September 8 issued a report on agricultural subsidies, which totaled $114 billion for the years 1995-2002. Of that total, $2.3 billion (2%) was provided as "livestock" subsidies through feed assistance, compensation, and disaster relief programs. Although farmed animal subsidies were a fraction of the overall amount for these years, they do not include conservation-related funds provided to farmers and ranchers. Moreover, there have been large recent increases in farmed animal subsidies; from 2000 to 2001 farmed animal subsidies increased by 122%, and from 2001 to 2002 they increased by 125%. In 2002 total "livestock" subsidies were more than $976 million, according to EWG, which is an environmental, health, and consumer advocacy organization with an emphasis on investigations and research.
EWG Farm Subsidy Database 2.0
http://www.ewg.org/farm/findings.php
"Livestock Subsidies in the United States: 1995-2002," EWG
http://www.ewg.org/farm/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=livestock
5. PIG WELFARE BECOMING EASIER AND MORE COST-EFFECTIVE
According to Pork Magazine, consumers do not have specific concerns about how farmed animals are raised, but they expect a minimum level of animal welfare. Activists have not experienced overwhelming success by targeting producers or consumers, but according to John McGlone, an auditing executive, "They hit a gold mine when they discovered the vulnerable link in the food chain - retailers and foodservice operators. Those companies have a brand to protect…" McGlone goes on to say that "retailers have made demands, the livestock industry doesn't want to make all of those changes, but it is preparing to do so." McGlone is the CEO for Farm Animal Care Training and Auditing (FACTA), one of three auditing programs currently available to pig farmers. Others include the Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP), the USDA's Process Verified Program, and the separate Swine Welfare Assurance Program (SWAP). An administrator of AWAP said that a likely implementation of a welfare auditing program with audits every 5-10 years would cost pig farmers only 6 cents per pig on average. The estimate is significantly less than that provided by the USDA, which has suggested that auditing expenses would be more than 50% higher than AWAP predicts, and would cost the industry nearly $120 million.
"Putting Pigs' Comfort First," Pork Magazine, Jane Messenger, October 1, 2004
http://www.porkmag.com/news_editorial.asp?pgID=728&ed_id=2947
6. UK COMPANY REFUSES SHIPMENT OF LIVE EXPORTS
UK shipping company Ferryways on September 24 declined to ship 500 farmed animals and became the third company in the past year to change practices due to pressure from animal activists. Campaigns by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Kent Against Live Exports (KALE) are said to have caused "disruption" to the company's transport of live animals from England to the European mainland and elsewhere. The two groups had threatened Ferryways with a blockade prior to the company's refusal to carry a shipment of live animals, although the company has not issued any official statement. The activists are seeking a maximum journey time for live animals of eight hours, which they believe will end the business for the UK. This compares to a current maximum journey time of 14 hours, which can be followed by another 14 hours of transport after only one hour of rest. Efforts by the European Union last April to pass laws restricting travel times and other welfare conditions for farmed animals reportedly resulted in no action.
"Ferry Company Stops Live Exports," BBC News, October 6, 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/suffolk/3719912.stm
"Ferryways Halts Live Exports," Farmers Weekly, September 29, 2004 http://www.fwi.co.uk/article.asp?con=16198&sec=18&hier=2
"Protest Over Live Animal Exports," BBC News, October 5, 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/suffolk/3715690.stm
7. CALIFORNIA BANS FOIE GRAS PRODUCTION AND SALE FROM 2012
On September 29, 2004, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that will ban the production and sale of foie gras in the state beginning in 2012. Foie gras is produced from the unnaturally bloated livers of force-fed ducks and geese. According to Pam Runquist of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR), "In signing the bill, Schwarzenegger took a significant step in demonstrating his commitment to animal welfare." For his part, Governor Schwarzenegger acknowledged that current foie gras production practices are inhumane, but qualified the new law by saying that the delay "provides 7-1/2 years for agricultural husbandry practices to evolve and perfect a humane way for a duck to consume grain to increase the size of its liver through natural processes." If producers are successful, the Governor says that the ban on foie gras production and sales will not be enacted. Producers in the US and France defend the practice of force-feeding and have criticized the impending ban, although the US accounts for only 2% of France's foie gras exports.
"Both Sides Hail Law on Foie Gras," Sonoma News, Patricia Henley, October
1, 2004
http://www.sonomanews.com/articles/2004/10/01/news/top_stories/news04.txt
"An Ending Made in Hollywood for an Epic Fight Over Foie Gras," Independent UK, Andrew Gumbel and John Lichfield, October 2, 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=567657
"French Fume Over California's Foie Gras Ban," Mercury News / Associated Press, Samantha Bordes, October 1, 2004
http://tinyurl.com/3noqg (MercuryNews.com
- Subscription required)
"Is Luxury Cruel? The Foie Gras Divide," New York Times, Patricia Leigh Brown, October 6, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/06FOIE.html
"Americans Eating More Chicken, Fish," Web MD News, Jeanie Lerche Davis, September 29, 2004
New USDA statistics show that over the past 30 years, meat consumption has increased by 9%, driven by a doubling of "poultry" consumption and a one-third increase in fish consumption.
http://tinyurl.com/3vyh8 (WebMD.com
website)
"Britons Urged to Pray for their Meals' Souls," Cape Times, October 4, 2004
UK: The RSPCA recently requested that churchgoers pray for "compassion for animals exploited for food, science, and entertainment" in observance of the day of the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi.
http://tinyurl.com/4egj7 (Cape
Times website)
"Oxfam Offers Chicks for Christmas," BBC News, October 3, 2004
International charity Oxfam seeks to convince consumers to give gifts of goats, chickens, and other farmed animals, which are then given to impoverished families and used to breed additional animals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3711134.stm
"Vegetarian Society Approves Certain McDonalds Products," JustFoods.com,
October 1, 2004
UK: The UK Vegetarian Society has certified several McDonalds products, including a new Quorn-based sandwich, yoghurt, salad, and other products.
http://just-food.com/nd.asp?art=58815&dm=yes
"Animal Fighting Legislation Approved By House Judiciary Committee," Gamefowl News, September 30, 2004
The US House Judiciary Committee approved HR 4264 to "establish felony level penalties and otherwise strengthen federal animal fighting laws;" the bill could be adopted by Congress later this year.
http://tinyurl.com/5foqm (Yahoo!
News website)
"Thai Government to Buy and Destroy Duck Eggs to Prevent Bird Flu," Meatingplace.com, Ann Bagel, October 6, 2004
Thailand: In an effort to curb the spread of Asian Influenza, the Thai government has agreed to purchase and destroy more than 5 million duck eggs from open-air farms near Bangkok.
http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/init.asp?iID=13162
CONTENTS
- More Farmed Animal Legal Resources
- Risk of BSE in Animal Feed Raises Questions about Rendering
- Genetics: Bovine Genome; Salmonella Research
- EWG: "Livestock" Subsidies Approached $1 Billion in 2002
- Pig Welfare Becoming Easier and More Cost-Effective
- UK Company Refuses Shipment of Live Exports
- California Bans Foie Gras Production and Sale from 2012
- 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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