An independent commission released a report Tuesday stating that factory farms in the U.S. — including California — pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and animal welfare.
The two-year study was completed by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. The commission recommended the phase-out of chaining veal calves by the neck, cramming egg-laying hens in cages and the keeping of pigs in metal cages barely larger than their bodies. The report could bolster the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, a California initiative on the November ballot.
The anti-cruelty measure calls for ending the above mentioned practices. The Humane Society of the United States, the group that recently caught cattle abuses at a Chino slaughterhouse, applauded the Pew’s report. (The Chino meat plant is owned by a Corona del Mar resident.)
“The panel’s recommendations come at a perfect time as Californians consider this ballot measure,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of The Humane Society of the United States.
The animal-rights group estimates that California factory farms confine millions of egg-laying hens in cages so small that the birds can’t spread their wings. The group also states that California pig farms confine thousands of pregnant pigs in metal enclosures that are two-feet wide.
To read more about the measure, click here.
(Photo above courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States.)’
Freebie Alert: Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry scoop shops are having freebies Tuesday and Wednesday. Click here to learn more.
Related story:
