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1.
ANIMAL-FIGHTING BILL PASSES U.S. HOUSE & SENATE
The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement
Act of 2007 was passed by the House of Representatives
(368-39) and the Senate (unanimously) on March 26th
and April 10th, respectively. The bill will take effect
immediately upon the President’s signature,
which is expected. It makes violations of federal
animal fighting law a felony punishable by up to 3
years in prison and a $250,000 fine, makes it a felony
to transport an animal across state or international
borders for the purpose of fighting, and prohibits
the interstate and foreign commerce in cockfighting
weapons. A timeline of the 6-year effort is on the
HSUS webpage listed below.
Cockfighting is banned in every state
but Louisiana (see: http://tinyurl.com/yocomp
), down from five states in 1998. Four bills seeking
to ban it in Louisiana await the April 30th opening
of the state Legislature session. Since 1998, the
number of states that have made cockfighting a felony
has grown from 17 to 33, Massachusetts having just
done so: http://tinyurl.com/2mf7jb.
U.S. CONGRESS GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO
LEGISLATION TO KNOCK OUT ORGANIZED ANIMAL FIGHTING
IN THE UNITED STATES
The Humane Society of the United States, April 10,
2007
http://tinyurl.com/2n38jl
COCKFIGHTING BANS NOW EXTEND TO ALL BUT ONE STATE
American Veterinary Medical Association, Katie Burns,
May 1, 2007
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may07/070501i.asp
2.
TX. BILL GUTS FARMED-ANIMAL PROTECTIONS; AR. & IL.
To appease agricultural interests, an
amendment was added to a Texas anti-cruelty bill,
gutting existing protections for farmed animals. Republican
Sid Miller’s amendment removed as an offense:
unreasonably failing to provide shelter for farmed
animals, seriously overworking a farmed animal, transporting
or confining farmed animals in a cruel manner, and
horse tripping. A proposed new cruelty offense of
failing to provide water to animals did survive. The
Texas House voted 136-2 on April 11th for the measure,
which was intended to eliminate loopholes in the anti-cruelty
law that have hindered prosecution. Animal advocates
had hoped to elevate protection for horses by moving
them out of the “livestock” classification.
Following another House vote, the bill will go to
the Senate.
The agriculture lobby also succeeded in weakening
an Arkansas anti-cruelty proposal:
http://tinyurl.com/25wcpw.
A proposal to ban horse slaughter passed
the Illinois House on April 18th. It has yet to pass
the Senate and be approved by the Governor. The last
operating horse slaughterplant in the U.S., in Illinois,
was recently shut when federal inspection was withdrawn
(see: http://tinyurl.com/24r5jj
). If the bill is made law it will permanently end
horse slaughter in the state.
ANIMAL CRUELTY VOTE HAS FUR FLYING
Houston Chronicle, Peggy Fikac, April 18, 2007
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4728591.html
HOUSE APPROVES HORSE SLAUGHTER BAN; MEASURE HEADS
TO SENATE
Daily Chronicle, Blackwell Thomas, April 19, 2007
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/news05.txt#blogcomments
3.
CARGILL CHANGING TO GROUP HOUSING?
Over the past four years, Cargill, a
major U.S. pig producer, “has been transitioning
to group sow housing,” the company explained
in a letter to The Humane Society of the U.S. The
organization had written to Cargill requesting it
follow Smithfield Foods’s lead in ceasing to
use gestation crates (see: http://tinyurl.com/ytke4c).
Cargill President Dirk Jones continued: “To
date, Cargill has already converted over half of our
company owned and contract production farms. The transition
from one kind of animal housing to another takes time
because it involves contractual relationships and
significant operational investment by producers.”
In closing, Jones wrote: "We are an industry
leader, with the conversion process well under way."
However, a Cargill spokesperson subsequently told
Meatingplace.com -“an on-line community for
red meat and poultry processors in North America”-
that the company is not phasing the crates out, stating,
"We don't think we implied that in our letter."
A National Pork Producers Council spokesperson
contends that pregnant pigs will fight in group housing,
with dominant pigs preventing the weakest one from
obtaining adequate food. Temple Grandin (see: http://tinyurl.com/2vhmaq
), who serves on the American Meat Institute's animal
welfare committee, argues that the solution to such
aggression is better genetic selection. She supports
banning gestation crates.
CARGILL PHASING OUT CRATES FOR SOWS
The Associated Press, Frederic J. Frommer, April 12,
2007
http://www.examiner.com/a-670863~Cargill_Phasing_Out_Crates_for_Sows.html
CARGILL REFUTES 'HSUS'S INTERPRETATION' THAT IT'S
PHASING OUT GESTATION STALLS
Meating Place, Tom Johnston, April 13, 2007
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=121687
4.
FUEL OR FOOD?
Meat production typically rises every
year, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut
it’s forecast for 2007 by a billion pounds (1.2%)
to 89.78 billion pounds. The reduction is attributed
to higher feed costs due to corn being diverted for
ethanol production. Global grain stocks are at their
lowest level in 30 years, and rising food prices,
driven in part by demand for crop-based fuels, are
already distressing consumers in some parts of the
world (see also: http://tinyurl.com/2qbwhs
).
American oil company ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods,
the world's biggest meat company, are collaborating
to produce diesel fuel from the fat of cows, pigs
and chickens. (Residual animal fat is usually used
for soap, cosmetics and animal food.) ConocoPhillips
anticipates making some 175 million gallons of it
annually, about 3% of its total diesel production,
and aims to offer it in the U.S. Midwest late this
year. The companies say the fuel will be cleaner than
conventional diesel fuel. ConocoPhillips and other
large oil companies persuaded the government to allow
them to qualify for a dollar-per-gallon tax incentive
by creating a “renewable” fuel from animal
remains and other residual food materials.
A Tyson spokesperson said the company
hasn’t yet discussed the fuel with vegetarian
or religious groups. People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA) points to a recent United Nations
report attributing more global warming emissions to
the meat industry than all cars, trucks and planes
combined (see: http://tinyurl.com/26atm7
). "Clearly, the answer to global warming isn't
to fill gas guzzling cars with ground up remains of
tortured animals, it is to go vegetarian, which is
something every person can afford to do and should
do for the sake of their own health, animals and the
environment,” PETA stated. Fuel from used vegetable
oil and other “biofuels” are also being
tried. See: http://tinyurl.com/2nlrkf
and see: http://tinyurl.com/2m8pe5
U.S. MEAT SUPPLY TO FALL AMID HIGHER
CORN PRICES
Reuters, April 11, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2wlt9n
CROP PRICES SOAR, PUSHING UP COST OF FOOD GLOBALLY
The Wall Street Journal, Patrick Barta with Lauren
Etter, Conor Dougherty, Hanting Tang, Kersten Zhang
and Binny Sabharwal, April 9, 2007
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=7404
PIG FAT TO BE TURNED INTO DIESEL
A Solution for the World's Energy Crisis May Come
in the Form of a Pig.
BBC News, April 19, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6571993.stm
5.
DISASTER PREVENTION & RESPONSE RESOURCES; DISASTERS
The Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC)
has released new resources intended to help emergency
personnel in emergencies involving farmed animals.
They are two fact sheets: “Barn Fires Involving
Livestock” and “Livestock on the Loose
at Accident Scenes,” in addition to an article
written to help farmers prevent and respond to barn
fires on their farms. OFAC has also held sold-out
workshops for first responders to farmed animal transportation
emergencies, and one specifically addressing poultry
emergencies. The fact sheets and courses were developed
by Jennifer Woods of J. Woods Livestock Services,
Alberta (see: http://www.reflectedjlivestock.com
).
More than 9,000 ducks, some only a day old, were
killed in a fire at a facility in Wisconsin owned
by Maple Leaf Farms. A nearby building, housing 10,000-15,000
ducks, was not affected. The company has some 400,000
ducks, ranging in age from one day to 7-8 weeks old,
the age at which they are typically slaughtered.
More than 3,000 pigs died in a fire at a Hutterite
community near Winnipeg on April 7th.
A faulty exhaust fan is believed to have sparked the
fire which was then sucked throughout the rest of
the building by other fans.
A tornado struck a new dairy operation in New Mexico
on March 23rd, killing or fatally injuring 110 cows.
Another 65 cows who were injured were sent to slaughter,
while an additional 70-80 were treated, some of whom
then began to exhibit internal injuries. Volunteers,
including “cowboys with horses,” arrived
the next day with vehicles to transport injured cows
to slaughter. Buildings, pens, equipment and vehicles
on the farm were destroyed by the storm.
See also: http://tinyurl.com/35ax8z
and http://tinyurl.com/2ojtp5
NEW RESOURCES HELP FIRST RESPONDERS WITH
BARN FIRES AND LIVESTOCK TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC), April 3, 2007
http://www.ofac.org/news/2007/FactSheetsBarnFiresLooseLivestock.php
MORE THAN 9,000 DUCKS KILLED IN BARN FIRE
The Associated Press, March 24, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2vhcmo
3,000 ANIMALS DIE AS FIRE DESTROYS HUTTERITE HOG
FARM
CBC News with files from Canadian Press, April 9,
2007
http://tinyurl.com/3622o7
DISASTER STRIKES DAIRY
Portales News-Tribune, Karl Terry, March 26, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2wt9kg
6.
RESISTANCE IS NEVER FUTILE
Noting that animal “escapes from
farms, slaughterhouses, laboratories, etc. are not
unusual,” Jason Hribal tells us of some of the
more notable recent examples, in his Counterpunch
article subtitled “Resistance is Never Futile.”
Mentioning a few of the “countless autonomous
communities” of free-living cows, sheep, pigs,
etc., in the U.S., Hribal states: “Ranchers
hate them. Conservationists plot against them. Suburbanites
hire people to kill them. Yet, these creatures continue
to survive. Indeed, the idea of paternalism
as applied towards other animals is a political
invention…when the curtain is pulled back, our
fellow creatures emerge as active beings each
of whom has the ability to shape the world around
them. Agency is not unique to the human animal. Cows,
pigs, monkeys, and elephants can also resist their
exploitation.”
Hribal goes on to state that there are
“a multiplicity of methods to deter or prevent
escapes…to scar and frighten…to punish…
to control aggressiveness…These techniques are
not called ‘breaking’ because their targets
are mindless, spiritless machines. Quite to the contrary,
they are deemed as such because turning autonomous,
intelligent beings into obedient, productive workers
is difficult.” For “chronic troublemakers,”
those who won’t submit, “the death penalty
has always been the final option.” He surmises:
“…more than bad press and possible loss
in profits, these escapes can produce a public awareness
of exploitation and resistance. This combination of
struggle and recognition then ultimately forces such
industries their operators, executives, scientists,
and engineers to adopt animal-welfare legislation
and practices.” Hribal concludes with the tragic
story of Tyke, an elephant, whose resistance one August
day “propelled the development of social change.”
Other recent articles about nonhuman animal perception
include:
FEELING THE PAIN OF ANIMALS: We're Not
the Only Ones Who have Emotions
Daily Camera, Marc Bekoff, April 1, 2007
http://www.dailycamera.com:80/news/2007/apr/01/feeling-the-pain-of-animals/
TIME IN THE ANIMAL MIND
The New York Times, Carl Zimmer, April 3, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/03time.html
FERAL AND FREE: AN INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE
SCHALLER
New Scientist, Michael Bond, April 5, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/youx9c
EMILY THE COW AND TYKE THE ELEPHANT
Counterpunch, Jason Hribal, April 17, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.org/hribal04172007.html
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