Alaska's Rocking Congressman

A much longer set of posts are coming in the very near future, related to Katy Perry's uninformed donations to HSUS, the most recent Mercy for Animals video release, Trent Loos's visit to OSU, my reiterated thoughts on hormones and other such things, but for now I just want to put out props for two people/groups for their stance on animal care without bending to the ridiculous emotional propaganda of the HSUS.

First is the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association. Caught between the calls for outrageous, unproven and even legally undefined cage legislation, and the impending need for producers to also step up and continue meeting their ethical obligations for egg production and chicken care, the WSVMA took a stance againsthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif caging legislation that was obviously not going to be beneficial to the chickens in question. They also made some good comments about the caging debate, so read away.



Second, and more outstanding in my own personal opinion is the rejection of HSUS by an Alaska Congressman. Representative Young rejected an award HSUS planned to give him, stating that he didn't want to look like he supported their radical movement. He also commented on the parasitism which provides HSUS with funding and deprives the local shelters and mentioned the difference between species preservation and nature conservation. Preservation of species isn't even endorsed by Tom Regan himself, and the Representative Young seems much more concerned with conserving the wild Alaska for generations to come. But cheers to him for not playing HSUS's game.

ADSA news

From my e-newsletter with ADSA, I refer you to a good article on the challenges that some "more humane" bird facilities face during this time of year. I think it's really important for people to fully understand the consequences of their ideology, and how much it sometimes just doesn't make sense.

Speaking of not making sense, the driving force behind cheap food is talking about making healthier food cheaper. It just seems like a high percentage of the people who shop Wal-mart do it because they can get more food for less money, thus eating more. Making your food healthier won't change the fact that people come there, buy too much and subsequently eat too much. Changing consumer action will make a bigger difference than the quality of your food. If you asked me, Wal-mart could do with focusing on fresher produce first.

On it goes...

Barilla pasta became the first big pasta-maker to join the cage-free egg movement. Whether or not they were pressured into it or bought out by HSUS, we'll probably never know. But what I do know is that they represent just one in a huge wave of propaganda conquests by HSUS as they buy, force or lie their way into the forefront of animal rights idiocracy. I think it's great that Barilla cares so much about the welfare of chickens, but maybe before they force more of the market production to convert to cage-free production, they might've wanted to ask whether or not cage-free is really a better system for the bird. For further reading on the matter, check out this OSU compilation on the welfare of birds in both systems. You might just be surprised.

While we're at the old grind of trying to spread facts to the few who care to elevate about media-hyped fiction, try out this sow housing fact sheet released by the USDA and ARS. I found it to be a more honest and unbiased evaluation of the current situation and research. In class today, we discussed the highly controversial issues surrounding the care and euthanasia of pigs. I understand the concern with animal welfare. As long as there are people beating animals, we have not done enough. But what frustrates me is the momentum from video releases which are used to push for irrational methods of caring for animals, such as untested swine housing, lack of castration, castration with anesthetics which are more detrimental to the piglet than the surgery, and utopic descriptions of how a pig should be allowed to act to exhibit "normal" behavior. For those of you who haven't seen pigs, don't watch their normal behavior - it will make a bad impression (ever seen Old Yeller?).

Finally, I have just two topics that border gross for me. First is the suspected live burial of pigs during the spread of foot and mouth disease in Korea. Foot and mouth disease is a horrible disease which spreads much faster than the vaccine would be able to work. While Compassion advocates the vaccine, you need to understand that the animals in question were obviously already afflicted with the disease. They should obviously have been euthanized prior to burial but they were not going to be saved one way or another.

And then there's the Dutch guy who thinks we should eat bugs. What do animal rights activists think about this? What a tasty alternative to bacon, eh?

Gateway to Animal Welfare Updates

Quite the busy day in my inbox for Animal Welfare updates as I had 2 weeks worth of "Gateway to Animal Welfare" articles to sort through. I'll start today with some continuations of previous discussions, including the well-being of cage-free birds and their feet.

Of course, Wayne Pacelle and his cronies continue to push cage-free systems as the only way to go for the future of egg production. As you recall, this included Kraft moving to 1,000,000 of its eggs being produced by cage-free chickens. Before you praise them though, go ahead and figure that that's really only 3,000 chickens. The big question here though is whether or not these 3,000 chickens will really receive any better lifestyle in their future environment. One thing to definitely consider is this new research stating that 40% of cage-free hens will suffer from foot diseases, which are much more readily prevented in a caged system. Things to ponder...

Also, of interest, the arrival of a new mega-dairy on the scene. I can understand that people think that animals lose the personal attention on a large farm, but if handled correctly, a large farm really just means ability to pay for more experienced and well-trained employees who can responsibly give even better care for their animals.

And finally some beginning research on hen-pecking from my Erasmus school in the Netherlands.

My challenge to State News

It seems like all of Columbus is in a hurry today to get around and get stuff done. An hour before our own parking lot usually fills up, I already was barely able to get a spot. This busyness includes me today, as I try to catch up on blog ideas I had to postpone yesterday in the stead of a funeral and an awards reception.

I'd like to start off today with a challenge to the State News. I know that basketball season is taking the highlight, including Delvon Roe's double performance yesterday which is remarkable and wonderful, but was it necessary to close comments to specific past articles such as the ongoing animal welfare debate? The closing of comments is just one more example of your unwillingness to allow free speech and expression of the opinions of your readers.

Per the comment of one your readers on the site, I had been searching for documentation from their own opinion leaders to contradict the argument presented. Sure enough, HSUS themselves discuss in their chicken cage welfare paper (28 pages with over a hundred references which I bet they thought nobody would read) the fact that chicken pecking behavior was found to be genetic. Thus, the cannibalism debated on the State News article is in fact present in most flocks, regardless of the housing systems which were suggested superior in discussion. So if you don't take it from me, take it from your own and realize that there is really a reason we call it a "pecking order". Find your place in it and shut your mouth.

Thus stems my challenge to State News. You have a few good writers on your staff who have shown willingness to support the media underdogs. Let them explore the truth and be what you should've been all along since you're supported by all kinds of readers; objectively report and leave subjectivism to the editorial column which should be open to both sides of an argument.