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1.
NEW JERSEY FARMED ANIMAL STANDARDS UPHELD
A 3-judge New Jersey appellate court
panel has unanimously ruled against a coalition of
animal protection and public interest groups in their
attempt to block new state standards for farmed animals.
The N.J. Dept. of Agriculture had been directed by
the state legislature to develop and adopt humane
care regulations (see: http://tinyurl.com/32f8ok).
The coalition had cited practices such as amputating
cows’ tails, intensively confining (crating)
pregnant pigs and calves, and transporting nonambulatory
animals to slaughter as being inhumane. The state
veterinarian countered that cow tail amputation is
now only occasionally done, animals can only be taken
to slaughter if there are no concerns about disease
and they can be transported humanely, and she said
she knows of no instances of calves or pigs in New
Jersey being crated. In its ruling, the panel stated
that, while both sides had support for their arguments,
“"We are obliged to avoid encroaching on
the Department's exercise of its expertise" (see
PDF file: http://tinyurl.com/3eyaeu).
A Farm Sanctuary spokesperson said the coalition members
were primarily concerned with the matter because of
the precedent it sets.
APPELLATE COURT UPHOLDS STANDARDS FOR
HUMANE LIVESTOCK CARE
AM New York, Linda A. Johnson, February 16, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/3dg2lh
2.
ANIMAL ADVOCATES MAY IMPACT FARM BILL DEBATES
Among the measures Congress is likely
to consider in formulating the “farm bill”
this year are: welfare standards for the slaughter
of chickens and turkeys, a permanent ban on slaughtering
nonambulatory animals, and a requirement that the
federal government buy meat or dairy products only
from producers that meet certain animal-welfare standards.
Legislation that sets animal-welfare standards for
federal suppliers is viewed as the initial step to
setting nationwide standards for farmed animal care.
“Flush with cash,” animal protection organizations
will be working to have the bill prevent practices
they consider inhumane. "The animal-rights movement
has changed since 2002," said Kelli Ludlum, with
the American Farm Bureau Federation, "You have
your head in the sand if you think they are not more
organized than they were five years ago." The
Humane Society of the U.S., for example, has formed
a new political arm that targeted campaign spending
against several key lawmakers in last fall's election.
Democrats now have control of both houses of Congress,
and several of industry's staunchest allies are no
longer in office.
ANIMAL-RIGHTS GROUPS COULD IMPACT UPCOMING
DEBATES
Clarion Ledger, Philip Brasher, February 11, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/32tv6y
3.
AUCTION YARD CONVICTED OF ANIMAL CRUELTY
For the last decade, accusations of
animal abuse have been made against New Holland Sales
Stable, one of the largest farmed-animal auctions
on the East Coast. On February 15th, the Pennsylvania
company was convicted of three counts of animal cruelty
for failing to provide veterinary care or euthanasia
to three nonambulatory sheep. Left without appropriate
food or water, the sheep were found on September 3rd
by a member of Animals Angels (see: http://tinyurl.com/2ruzn4)
and were later euthanized by Keith Mohler, a humane
enforcement officer with Farm Sanctuary (see: http://tinyurl.com/yrx2nj),
who then filed charges. “All three sheep were
in terrible condition, and one was missing hunks of
skin all over her body," Mohler said. The sheep
are thought to have arrived on a truck from Nebraska
that also contained 16 to 18 dead sheep. New Holland
has been ordered to pay $500 for each count.
The article notes numerous previous
cruelty cases against the company, including one in
2001 in which it was found guilty of 31 counts of
animal cruelty (see also the 2nd part in #5 of: http://tinyurl.com/39dbs8).
"Attaining animal cruelty convictions at stockyards
and farms -- even when the cruelties are blatant and
horrifying to most people -- are extremely difficult
because of broad agricultural exemptions in state
anti-cruelty codes," said Gene Baur, president
of Farm Sanctuary. New Holland recently enclosed the
walkway above its pens, obstructing the view of animal
treatment below.
NEW
HOLLAND SALES STABLE CONVICTED OF ANIMAL CRUELTY
Solanco News, February 16, 2007
http://www.solanconews.com/Farm/070216_newhollandsales.htm
4.
(G)RAZING THE WEST
In an essay entitled “How the
West was Eaten,” author Jeffrey St. Clair tells
us that
most of the water in the West goes not to satiate
the thirst of people but that of cows.
The primary source of the pollution of that water
is from the thousand tons of cow manure released into
it every day. Grazing allotments cover 82% of the
320 million acres the Forest Service and the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) control in the Western U.S.
More than 250,000 miles of ranching roads crisscross
these public lands, along with an estimated 300,000
to 500,000 miles of fencing which obstructs wildlife
migration routes. Wildlife Services (formerly called
Animal Damage Control, see: http://tinyurl.com/yom3uo),
a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tracks,
traps, poisons, gases or shoots more than two million
birds and 135,000 mammals every year, including more
than 80,000 coyotes last year (see also: http://tinyurl.com/3bl2el).
Native species are also at risk from lethal diseases
transmitted by cattle and sheep. "The livestock
industry is the last wildlife-genocide program in
the United States," states St. Clair (see also
#7 below and http://tinyurl.com/3dwwwx).
Only about one-half of 1% of people
living in the West hold permits to Forest Service
and BLM lands. Ranching on federal lands provides
about one dollar of every $2,500 of income received
by Westerners. St. Clair explains: “…the
vast majority of grazing allotments reside with a
small fraction of permittees, including some of the
richest families in America, multinational corporations,
regional utilities, media celebrities (such as Sam
Donaldson), and several politicians.” He contends
that grazing subsidies may exceed a billion dollars
annually, and refers to ranching subsidies as “an
untouchable form of [social] welfare.” St. Clair
states: “…take away the subsidies, the
nearly free forage, the roads, the even cheaper water
that magically appears from nowhere in the middle
of the high desert, the tax breaks, predator control,
abeyances from environmental standards and disproportionate
political clout when any thing else goes against him,
such as drought, rangefires, bad investments. Then
charge them for the gruesome externalities of their
"avocation" and then see how many stick
around for the hardscrabble lifestyle that remains.
Federal subsidies and political protection are the
velcro for most of these guys.” The essay details
political machinations that have shaped public lands
policy since the Clinton administration, and introduces
the Larkspur Rebellion: “a growing contingent
of hardcore environmentalists…calling for radical
changes in federal rangeland policy.” See also:
http://tinyurl.com/2awxq2
The Bush administration has announced
it is lowering the monthly cost of grazing cattle
on federal land from $1.56 to $1.35 per cow/calf,
effective March 1st. This is the lowest allowable
fee, and is based on the value of public lands grazing
in 1966. According to the Center for Biological Diversity,
the federal government loses an estimated $123 million
to over $500 million per year on its grazing program
(see: http://tinyurl.com/yunbjk).
HOW THE WEST WAS EATEN
Counterpunch, Jeffrey St. Clair, February 10/11, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair02102007.html
FOREST SERVICE AND BLM ANNOUNCE 2007
FEDERAL GRAZING FEE
USDA Forest Service news release, Feb. 2, 2007
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/grazing-fee.shtml
5.
USDA DENIES COLORADO DISASTER AID
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
has turned down Governor Bill Ritter’s request
for aid to Colorado farmers and ranchers who lost
cattle to blizzards this winter (see: http://tinyurl.com/2qlx2t).
The Colorado Department of Agriculture estimates 10,000
cattle died after a second blizzard, about 3% of the
345,000 cattle in southeastern Colorado. However,
the USDA requires production losses (versus economic)
losses of 30% before declaring a disaster, which could
then make applicants eligible for low-interest operating
loans. Some areas have been affected more than others,
with reported losses of 75-80%. Calving season is
also underway, and more losses are anticipated (see:
http://tinyurl.com/2rcjcx).
"I do know that there are some producers, especially
in the south part of the county, that began the calving
process, and they are having catastrophes, very, very
high losses, much higher than 30 percent," said
the commissioner of Bent County. The Baca County commissioner
said he knows of cattle who are losing weight because
ranchers can’t afford feed for them. Colorado’s
agriculture commissioner is attempting to get the
USDA to reconsider, and pressure is increasing for
Congressional bills promoting disaster aid (see: http://tinyurl.com/334dc5).
DENIAL OF BLIZZARD AID BLASTED
Denver Post, Erin Emery , Feb. 13, 2007
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5214973
6.
COLLAPSED ROOFS KILL 20,000 TURKEYS
Wintery weather led to the collapse
of the roofs of 25 barns housing turkeys near Jefferson
City, Mo., on December 1st. The young birds were being
raised by contract for Cargill, Inc. Some 22 or 23
“contract growers” were affected, with
one family pulling 5,000 turkeys out prior to the
collapse of their building. Many others in central
Missouri prepared in advance for the storm by fortifying
buildings and stocking water and feed.
FRIGID FARMS
The St. Louis Post Dispatch, Repps Hudson, Dec. 5,
2006
(The article is available on-line for a fee: http://www.stltoday.com
)
7.
UPCOMING EVENTS
THINKING ABOUT ANIMALS: DOMINATION,
CAPTIVITY, LIBERATION
As part of its “commitment to engaged scholarship
directed towards social justice,” the Department
of Sociology at Brock University will co-sponsor,
with Niagara Action for Animals, a conference entitled
“Thinking About Animals: Domination, Captivity,
Liberation,” to be held on Brock campus (Ontario,
Canada), March 15-16th. Topics specifically regarding
farmed animal issues include:
“Cows, Profits and Genocide: The Oppressive
Side of ‘Beef’ Consumption”
“Examining the Dynamic Between the Animal Industry
and the Animal Movement”
“Factory Farming: Past, Present and Future”
“Slaughterhouses and Crime Rates”
and “Vegetarianism, Activism and the Media.”
More info at: http://www.brocku.ca/sociology/conference
REMINDER: INADMISSIBLE COMPARISONS
United Poultry Concerns’ 7th Annual Conference,
co-hosted by the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund
and Lantern Books, is to be held at the NYU Law School
in New York City, March 24-25th. See: faw/faw7-2.htm#5
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