1. BSE UPDATE
Between four and seven cattle are infected
with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) out of
the 42 million animals who comprise the U.S. adult
cattle population, estimates the USDA. So far, three
cows in the U.S. have officially been confirmed to
have the disease. The data used by the USDA does not
include the first one, however, who was born in Canada.
Including that case would increase the estimate of
infected cattle to between five and eleven. After
the USDA’s analysis is peer-reviewed by outside
experts, the agency plans to use the analysis and
international standards to design an ongoing surveillance
program.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is calling for
a reduction in testing levels – currently at
around one percent of the 35 million cattle slaughtered
last year in this country. He argues that the testing
is supposed to show the disease’s prevalence,
not protect against BSE entering the food supply.
Others are questioning the validity of the testing
methods.
After seven weeks of searching, the government has
announced it has given up trying to find the origins
of the third U.S. case of BSE, an Alabama cow who
was nonambulatory (a “downer”). They were
attempting to find out if any cattle associated with
her might have also been infected. They were able
to track down two of her calves. One had died at a
stockyard last year and was sent to a landfill. The
other, born this year, is currently under observation.
The infected cow is thought to have been born prior
to a restriction on the use of cattle tissue in ruminant
feed instituted nine years ago. Her body was not put
into the food supply. Public interest groups and lawmakers
are calling for safeguards that are more stringent,
as well as the quick adoption of an animal-tracking
system, now voluntary and not expected to be fully
operational until 2009.
On April 16, Canada’s fifth native-born BSE
case was confirmed. Fifteen of the animal’s
herdmates had been exported to the U.S., one of whom
has been located. Herdmates of other infected cattle
have previously been exported to the U.S. in 2003
and 2005.
Meanwhile, a decade-old beef export ban imposed on
Britain by the European Union (EU) has just been lifted.
The EU agreed to lift the ban because veterinarians
have concluded that Britain has met requirements to
contain the spread of the disease. So far, BSE has
infected over 180,000 cows worldwide, and it is blamed
for more than 150 human deaths.
Several
Mad Cow Cases Undetected in U.S.
Associated Press, April 28, 2006
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/04/28/1555802-ap.html
Prevalence of BSE in U.S. ‘Extraordinarily
Low,’ Johanns Says
American Meat Institute, April 28, 2006
http://www.meatami.com/SubscriptionRedir.cfm?News=1&ID=2912
U.S. Authorities Give Up Investigation of Mad Cow
Case in Alabama
Associated Press, May 3, 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/060503/b0503116.html
15 Herdmates in Mad Cow Case Exported to U.S.
Reuters, Marcy Nicholson with Christopher Doering,
April 28, 2006
http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_national.asp?id=144320
EU Lifts Ban on British Beef Wednesday
Associated Press, May 2, 2006
http://cbs4.com/topstories/topstories_story_122071548.html
2. EXECUTIVES, ACTIVISTS ON TRIAL
Videotaped evidence filmed at a Pennsylvania
farm has been ruled permissible in a trial against
Esbenshade Farms chief executive and its farm manager.
Each faces 35 counts of animal cruelty, with potential
fines of up to $750 and 90 days in jail per violation.
Defense attorneys had argued that John Brothers, the
activist who made the tape, had violated constitutional
search-and-seizure rules since he filmed without permission
after misrepresenting himself on an employment application.
Brothers had omitted the fact that, prior to working
for Esbenshade for a few weeks last autumn, he had
worked for Compassion Over Killing (COK). He returned
to COK afterward, but testified that he had independently
sought employment at Esbenshade and made the tape.
The defense is also trying to establish that the investigation
was conducted by the state, with the humane society
police officer who filed charges doing so in collaboration
with COK. Officer Johnna Seeton denies this. The defense
also asserts that the animal cruelty statute cannot
be enforced against “normal agricultural operations,”
such as Esbenshade. Brothers reportedly documented
ill and injured birds crowded in cages, hens impaled
on wire, and mounds of dead birds. Documentation,
including video, can be seen on the COK website.
Felony charges against two Philadelphia
animal-rights advocates for allegedly trespassing
at Lancaster County’s Kreider Farms in November
2004 were dropped and reduced, respectively. Felony
charges against Lisa Levinson were dropped because
she is only a spokesperson for the animal-rights group
Hugs for Puppies, and she did not trespass on the
property. Felony charges against Christopher Price
were reduced to a summary trespassing offense. Price,
who videotaped conditions inside three chicken houses,
pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $582 in fines
and court costs. Referring to the aforementioned Esbenshade
case, he said he might consider new tactics in the
future. The group’s documentation
is available on its website. Kreider Farms offers
an online virtual
tour (click on “Chicken Cam”).
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell signed House
Bill 213 into law on April 14. The bill, to become
effective 60 days from its passage, amends the state's
crimes code to include the offense of “ecoterrorism.”
Passed overwhelmingly in both House and Senate, it
makes obstruction of commercial activity involving
animals or plants a felony. Specified offenses (such
as agricultural vandalism, crop destruction, criminal
trespass or theft) are already crimes in Pennsylvania,
but this legislation is said to be aimed at deterring
politically motivated property destruction with the
intent of intimidation. If the specified offense is
already classified as a first-degree felony, a person
convicted under the new statute could be sentenced
to up to 40 years of imprisonment and may face a fine
of up to $100,000. Additionally, restitution could
be ordered in an amount up to triple the value of
the damages incurred. The Governor stated that under
the new measure, a person exercising their right of
freedom of petition or freedom of speech on public
property or with the permission of the landowner and
who is peaceably demonstrating or exercising those
rights is to be immune from prosecution or civil liability
for ecoterrorism. The American Civil Liberties Union,
however, opposed the bill on First Amendment grounds.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is urging that it
be used as a model in states without similar measures.
Today, Compassionate Consumers president
Adam Durand was found not guilty of criminal burglary,
a felony charge that could have resulted in a 7-year
prison term. Durand was on trial in New York on charges
of burglary, petit larceny, criminal trespass and
criminal mischief. Previously, two fellow Compassionate
Consumers activists pled guilty to reduced charges
of trespassing and petit larceny, both misdemeanors.
The three were arrested last year after releasing
a documentary
they made during clandestine visits to a laying hen
facility owned by Wegmans Food Markets. The film shows
dead hens caged with live ones, birds with their heads
caught in cage wires, and chickens who had fallen
into manure pits. Eleven ailing hens, said to be worth
$2.80 each, were taken by the activists. The company
pressed charges against them after the district attorney
said he found no evidence of cruel treatment by the
chain. Wegmans states that it follows standard industry
practice and participates in voluntary industry efforts
regarding animal
care. The production manager testified that one
person tends to 80,000 chickens. Testimony details
can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/l7m2m
Video Evidence OK’d for Animal
Cruelty Case
Intelligencer Journal, Susan E. Lindt, April 19, 2006
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/22079
Felony Charges KO’D in Kneider Farms Case
Intelligencer Journal, Susan E. Lindt, April 28, 2006
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/22322
Pennsylvania Governor Signs Ecoterrorism Bill into
Law
PR Newswire, April 14, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/jby83
New Law May Echo Over Many Protests
Pittsburgh City Paper, Melissa Meinzer, April 20,
2006
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/scripts/printIt.cfm?ref=6053
Animal-Rights Activist Who Filmed Egg Farm Acquitted
of Burglary
The Associated Press, May 4, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/fdlaf
Animal-Rights Activist Denies Breaking into Egg Farm
or Intent to Remove Chickens
Associated Press, Ben Dobbin, May 3, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/q9pht
3. TURKEYS BRUTALIZED BY WORKERS
Workers at the UK food processing company
Bernard Matthews were recently caught on tape abusing
turkeys in a manner so graphic that BBC News would
only show part of the footage.
Two staff members were recorded playing “bat
and ball” with live turkeys at one of the 20
turkey sheds at Beck Farm in Norfolk. In the video,
several turkeys fly through the air before they are
hit in the head and neck with the 5-foot wooden pole.
When the birds land, the worker laughs, hits them
again, and kicks them as they try to escape. The secretly
filmed footage was released to the media by the Hillside
Animal Sanctuary. Six workers have been suspended,
and the RSPCA is studying the evidence before deciding
whether to prosecute Bernard Matthews, which is the
UK’s eighth largest grocery company. Six years
ago, turkeys with festering wounds along with dead
turkeys were found by undercover investigators at
a Bernard Matthews farm. The company responded: "We
answer to the highest levels of officialdom who inspect
everything we do.” An independent vet later
inspected the site and reported there was no “significant”
welfare or husbandry problem.
Turkey Ball Game Staff Suspended
BBC News, April 24, 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4940366.stm
Exclusive: The Bird Batterer
Mirror, Jeremy Armstrong, April 24, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/m38ls
4. NEW U.S. TURKEY SLAUGHTERPLANT
The entire operation of Dakota Provisions,
a new $45 million turkey slaughter plant in Huron,
S.D, can be remotely observed by cameras by both an
external audit company and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. The first turkey plant to be built from
scratch in the U.S. in two decades, it employs 425
workers and processes about 14,000 birds a day, with
production expected to double by 2008. Trucks arriving
with turkeys are washed down prior to entering the
plant. The birds are stunned with carbon dioxide before
having their throats cut.
A Glimpse Inside the Turkey Plant: Huron
Operation Emphasizes Sanitation
American News, Russ Keen, May 2, 2006
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/14478800.htm
5.
IMMIGRATION RALLIES SHUT MEAT PLANTS
Major U.S. meat companies announced
they would be closed on May 1 as tens of thousands
of workers around the country rallied for immigration
reform. Tyson Foods shut nine beef plants and four
pork plants, and Cargill and Perdue Farms closed some
facilities. However, supplies of pig, cattle and chicken
meat are already large as the spread of bird flu,
a temporary chicken import ban by Russia, and a fifth
case of mad cow disease in Canada have impacted sales.
Production was also ramped up over the weekend to
make up for Monday’s loss in output. Of the
11.5 to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the
United States, an estimated 40% work in agriculture,
and 25-75% of U.S. farm laborers are “fraudulently
documented.”
Cities Brace for Immigration Rallies
The Los Angeles Times, Michael Muskal, May 1, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/jz9ee
6. WORLD MEAT CONGRESS PROTESTED
Over 100 activists attempted to disrupt
the World Meat Congress in Brisbane, Australia, where
more than 600 delegates gathered to discuss the future
of the industry. While animal welfare was a major
forum topic, protestors said the federal government
is sanctioning animal cruelty with “ridiculous”
animal welfare standards and a lack of enforcement
or prosecution by the RSPCA. At the conference, Dr.
David Bayvel of the World Organization for Animal
Health said that while 50-60% of surveyed consumers
say they would pay more for products with improved
animal welfare, only 5-6% actually does so.
In nearby Ipswich, four activists chained themselves
to equipment on the killing room floor of a slaughter
plant. Seven more chained themselves to equipment
in the area where animals are stunned before being
killed. They called police when a worker hazardously
began grinding off the chains. No charges have been
made. Elsewhere, an activist exhibited herself as
a plastic-wrapped package of meat to “challenge
people to think about what they’re eating.”
A photo and video of the demonstration are available online
Activists Protest Against Meat
Melbourne Herald Sun, April 29, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/qf58k
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