A proposal in the U.S. House would take production agriculture standards out of the hands of professionals and turn them over to bureaucrats. That’s what I find worrisome about new animal welfare legislation by two U.S. representatives California. The Bill is HR 4733 The Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act. The Bill was introduced earlier this month by Reps. Diane Watson and Elton Gallegly, both from California. If passed, the bill would prohibit the government from purchasing animal products that are not "humanely" produced for school lunch and other federal programs.
So who defines "Humane?" That's the real problem! the bill would mandate arbitrary humane animal production standards. By arbitrary, we mean standards developed without input from veterinarians or animal producers. Now we (all of us) have real problems. The legislation—which resembles doctrine espoused by the animals rights activists of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animals rights groups—is based on the presumption that farm animals are not routinely treated humanely. In Indiana when we were accused by the animals rights folks of being the "Bad Guys" we litterally got HB 1099 passed unanimously in both houses of the legislature and signed into law.
As a defense, agriculture points to painstaking animal welfare standards—proper veterinary care, fresh water, clean animal feed, etc. from birth to harvest—which have been developed through years of research by scientists and producers for every species of livestock. Those standards by and large have been developed to maintain healthy animals. And we can argue until the cows come home that healthy livestock are happy livestock. But reactive thinking isn’t cutting it anymore. The industry needs to get get ahead of this issue.
We are never going to satisfy PETA and HSUS, and shouldn’t even try. But we can throw a barrier between them and the American consumer. We think "ethical standards of care" for livestock is the answer? We especially think that your local farmer,veterinarian and locall researchers should set those standards. Start running through your mind some of the people that you see or hear everyday in national news who know absolutely nothing about these issues and telling us here in Indiana "We know better than you" how to stop cruelty to animals and what you should eat.
As for us here at the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare we keep having faith in our local farmers and the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) under the guidance of Dr. Bret Marsh to set the care standards for Indiana livestock. As for the federal level, we still trust the USDA as well.
Please contact your Congressman or Woman and US Senators and let them know what you really think before it's too late!!
So who defines "Humane?" That's the real problem! the bill would mandate arbitrary humane animal production standards. By arbitrary, we mean standards developed without input from veterinarians or animal producers. Now we (all of us) have real problems. The legislation—which resembles doctrine espoused by the animals rights activists of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animals rights groups—is based on the presumption that farm animals are not routinely treated humanely. In Indiana when we were accused by the animals rights folks of being the "Bad Guys" we litterally got HB 1099 passed unanimously in both houses of the legislature and signed into law.
As a defense, agriculture points to painstaking animal welfare standards—proper veterinary care, fresh water, clean animal feed, etc. from birth to harvest—which have been developed through years of research by scientists and producers for every species of livestock. Those standards by and large have been developed to maintain healthy animals. And we can argue until the cows come home that healthy livestock are happy livestock. But reactive thinking isn’t cutting it anymore. The industry needs to get get ahead of this issue.
We are never going to satisfy PETA and HSUS, and shouldn’t even try. But we can throw a barrier between them and the American consumer. We think "ethical standards of care" for livestock is the answer? We especially think that your local farmer,veterinarian and locall researchers should set those standards. Start running through your mind some of the people that you see or hear everyday in national news who know absolutely nothing about these issues and telling us here in Indiana "We know better than you" how to stop cruelty to animals and what you should eat.
As for us here at the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare we keep having faith in our local farmers and the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) under the guidance of Dr. Bret Marsh to set the care standards for Indiana livestock. As for the federal level, we still trust the USDA as well.
Please contact your Congressman or Woman and US Senators and let them know what you really think before it's too late!!
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