Farmed Animal Watch: Objective Information for the Thinking Advocate
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July 28, 2006 -- Number 27, Volume 6


1. AVMA REJECTS WELFARE RESOLUTIONS

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) at its annual meeting, this year held in Hawaii, rejected a proposed resolution that would have made it AVMA policy to place “a higher priority on animal welfare when required to choose between animal welfare and economic considerations." Instead, the Association drafted and unanimously passed a counter resolution which supports the "responsible use of animals for human purposes." (The term "responsible" was not defined.) The initial resolution was proposed by Farm Sanctuary, which found that most of the 1,000 veterinarians surveyed in a nationwide poll oppose industrialized agricultural practices supported by the AVMA. Expressing a lack of surprise regarding the vote, Farm Sanctuary President Gene Bauston said: "The AVMA has a history of aligning itself with agribusiness' economic interests and defending the use of cruel factory farming practices to the detriment of animal welfare.” The organization is urging the AVMA to oppose “irresponsible” animal production systems, including gestation and veal crates, battery cages, and the force feeding of ducks for foie gras.

The AVMA also denied a resolution to oppose the “mechanical force feeding of ducks and geese” for foie gras production. Animal Rights Hawaii, Animal Rights International, and United Poultry Concerns ran a full-page ad in the Honolulu Advertiser during the annual meeting to condemn the AVMA’s position on foie gras. (To view the ad, visit: http://www.upc-online.org/ducks/71806avma.html ) The AVMA rejected a similar proposal last year. Recent articles on the controversy over foie gras can be found in the Miami New Times: http://tinyurl.com/kyb67 and The Hartford Courant: http://tinyurl.com/eu79p

More information on these resolutions can be found at: http://www.avma.org/convention/news/monday02.asp and see “Animal welfare in philosophy and practice” (resolutions 4 & 7) at: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun06/060615c.asp

See clarification and correction: http://www.farmedanimal.net/faw/faw6-28.htm#6



AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION BOARD REFUSES TO PRIORITIZE ANIMAL WELFARE OVER ECONOMIC INTERESTS, SAYS FARM SANCTUARY
U.S. Newswire, July 24, 2006
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69676


2. THOUSANDS OF CHICKS PERISH FROM NEGLECT

Some 11,840 baby turkeys died while being transported by Northwest Airlines in two separate incidents during mid-July. The first occurred on July 13th, when more than 9,000 of about 11,500 chicks, crowded onto a single flight from Detroit to San Francisco, died from suffocation, overheating and dehydration. The birds were being transported from a Hybrid Turkeys farm in Canada to Zacky Farms in Fresno for breeding purposes. Then, on July 19th, some 2,240 chicks sat for hours in 108-degree weather after the Air Canada flight they were on developed mechanical trouble. (Northwest oversees cargo for Air Canada.) Nearly all of the dead or dying chicks were thrown into a trash compactor.
Northwest has apologized to Hybrid, which filed a $107,000 claim with the airline, and said it is reviewing shipping procedures with its employees. The Peninsula Humane Society (of California) is considering pressing charges against Northwest pending its investigation. It is also looking for adopters for 40 surviving chicks. The rest of the surviving birds were sent on to Zacky Farms.


TURKEY DEATHS PROMPT INQUIRY
The Mercury News, HongDao Nguyen with Sandra Gonzales, July 22, 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15099266.htm

PROBE CONTINUES INTO DEATH OF TURKEYS BOUND FOR S.F. AIRPORT
The Mercury News, Melissa McRobbie, July 26, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/ek66v

 

3. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DIE IN CALIFORNIA HEAT WAVE

Triple-digit temperatures baking California since mid-July have resulted in the deaths of some 25,000 cattle and an estimated 700,000 chickens and turkeys. Central California is home to over 2.5 million cattle, with Tulare County being the top dairy county in the country. Typically, there is a 5 to 9 percent annual mortality rate in herds used for dairy production, not all of which is heat related. Cows are said to now be dying at about twice the usual July rate. State law requires dead farmed animals be taken to rendering plants for disposal due to pollution concerns. However, some counties have approved emergency measures, allowing animals to instead be buried, composted or sent to landfills. With milk prices down and feed and energy prices up, “The timing is horrendous,” remarked Andy Zylstra, president of the California Dairy Campaign.

California poultry are housed in ventilated, water-cooled barns that keep the temperature at 76 degrees F (24 degrees C), according to Bill Mattos, President of the California Poultry Association. "But when the temperatures reach over 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), it can be devastating to the smaller producer," he said.


CALIFORNIA HEAT KILLS 25,000 CATTLE: OFFICIAL
Agence France-Presse, July 27, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060727/sc_afp/usweatherfarm

RECORD HEAT IS COW KILLER
The Fresno Bee, Dennis Pollock with Robert Rodriguez, July 26, 2006
http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/14281778p-15089865c.html

 

4. THOUSANDS OF PIGS, CHICKENS PERISH FROM FIRES

Approximately 6,150 pigs perished in a fire on June 25th at a 3-M Swine Inc. facility near London, Ontario. The fire also caused millions of dollars of damage: http://tinyurl.com/z45oq

Some 3,000 chickens died on July 4th in Delaware when a fire started near the exhaust ventilation fans of the building they were in: http://tinyurl.com/nmern

On July 5th, in North Carolina, an unknown number of chickens were killed when an Allen Family Foods barn holding 15,000 of the birds was destroyed by fire. The cause was unknown but large electric fans inside the barn may have contributed to the blaze: http://tinyurl.com/jkc6k

On July 15th, fire tore through a building in Oswestry (United Kingdom) housing 28,000 chickens, thousands of whom died: http://tinyurl.com/oewbs

An estimated 200 young pigs died on July 22nd at a remote location in Illinois when a fire said to be electrical in nature destroyed the metal building they were in. Several thousand pigs are kept at the facility, which is operated by Carthage Veterinary Service:
http://www.whig.com/308378482690696.php

 

5. VEGAN RUNNER IS AMERICA'S PRE-EMINENT ULTRAMARATHONER


Scott Jurek, “the pre-eminent American ultramarathoner” eats only vegan food. Logging 70 to 80 miles on a Saturday, he rises the next morning for another long run. In under 26 hours, he just won his second California Badwater Ultramarathon - a 135-mile race over 13,000 vertical feet (“which is like a flight of stairs three miles high”) from Death Valley to the base of Mount Whitney, where 120-degree temperatures are said to be the norm. He skipped the Western States race this year, which he has won every year from 1999-2005. His record is unprecedented.

AFTER 70 MILES, RACER JUST WARMING UP
The New York Times, Oakley Brooks, July 22, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/kqu8y

MARATHON MELT
The Washington Post, William Booth, July 27, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072602001.html


6. UPDATES: AMAZON PROTECTION; THWARTED RESEARCH

As mentioned in last week’s FAW digest, Brazil is now the world’s largest producer of soybeans, the production of which is destroying the Amazon. U.S. agribusiness giants Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland have announced that, for the next two years, they will stop buying soybeans grown in recently deforested areas of the Amazon. Additionally, they will work with the Brazilian government to develop regulations for growing the crop. A Greenpeace investigation caused European supermarkets, food manufacturers, and fast-food chains to begin pressuring their soy providers into improving their production practices. Details at: http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/07/25/

Following up on last week’s mention of Campylobacter contamination of chickens in New Zealand, scientists say “funding problems, covert bullying and a lack of co-operation from the poultry industry” are discouraging research into the risks. The chicken industry and New Zealand Food Safety Authority counter that they are working hard and devoting resources toward resolving the problems, but that there are no easy solutions. Read more at: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/0,2106,3741041a6442,00.html

 

7. SYMPOSIUM: ETHICS AND ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

“Ethics and Animal Biotechnology: How Do We Plan for the Future?” is a public symposium, sponsored by Michigan State University and the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, to be held in Washington, D.C. on October 18th. The symposium “will provide an overview of the ethical implications of creating and using cloned or genetically engineered animals in agriculture and of utilizing genetically engineered agricultural animals for biomedical or industrial purposes.” Ample opportunity for participation by all attendees is planned. Registration is free, but pre-registration is required and space is limited. For more information, or to register, go to:
http:// pewagbiotech.org/events/1018/

 





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Compiled and edited by Cat Carroll and Mary Finelli, 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.