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January 3, 2013 Robert Gerlach, DVM Alaska State Veterinarian 3 pages via email: [email protected] Dear Dr. Gerlach, On behalf of Farm Sanctuary and our 250,000 members and supporters in the United States, I am writing to offer two suggestions for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) proposed Animal Care Standards. Farm Sanctuary cares for more than 1,000 farm animals at our three sanctuaries in New York and California, and over the past 25 years, we have provided lifelong care for thousands more. Through our extensive experience, we have learned that farm animals are interesting individuals who have the same physical and behavioral needs, capacity for emotion, and range of personalities that we all know to exist in dogs and cats. In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, Dr. Jane Goodall writes that “farm animals feel pleasure and sadness, excitement and resentment, depression, fear, and pain. They are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined . . . they are individuals in their own right.” And meat industry consultant Dr. Temple Grandin writes in Animals in Translation that “when it comes to the basics of life . . . [other] animals feel the same way we do.” It is with these observations in mind that we ask you to require that all farm animals in Alaska: 1) be provided sufficient space to turn around and extend their limbs; and 2) not be subject to any bodily mutilation unless that mutilation is specifically called for by relevant veterinary bodies. These requirements would have the very important effect of prohibiting battery cages for laying hens, gestation and veal crates for pregnant pigs and calves, and the tail docking of dairy cows. Gestation & Veal Crates Immobilization of pigs and calves in crates is highly damaging for them, both physically and mentally. First, the animals’ muscles and bones waste away from lack of use, so that walking becomes excruciating; even standing up can be painful. Second, because the animals rub against the bars of their crates and lie in their own excrement all day and night, they suffer painful ammonia burns on their skin, and their lungs become raw from breathing putrid air. Third, mother pigs in crates are in a constant state of starvation because they are fed about half of what they would normally consume. Fourth, due to lack of exercise and decreased water consumption, many sows suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs) so severe that UTIs are a leading cause of death for crated sows. Try to imagine a worse way to die. The situation is no better in terms of the animals’ mental health: Pigs are very social animals who have cognitive and emotional capacities beyond those of dogs; in some areas, they outperform chimpanzees. Cattle are similarly inquisitive and are also extremely social. So it's no surprise that they suffer mental and emotional anguish when they're unable to move for most of their lives. Dr. Grandin states unequivocally what the science provesthat other animals, including pigs and cattle, share with humans the exact same core emotions and the same “four basic social emotions,” one of which is the need to engage in social interaction with others. They

The Inner World of Farm Animals - Farm Sanctuary · In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, ... some dairy producers continue to chop off ... and its final report

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Page 1: The Inner World of Farm Animals - Farm Sanctuary · In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, ... some dairy producers continue to chop off ... and its final report

January 3, 2013

Robert Gerlach, DVM

Alaska State Veterinarian

3 pages via email: [email protected]

Dear Dr. Gerlach,

On behalf of Farm Sanctuary and our 250,000 members and supporters in the United States, I am

writing to offer two suggestions for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s

(DEC) proposed Animal Care Standards.

Farm Sanctuary cares for more than 1,000 farm animals at our three sanctuaries in New

York and California, and over the past 25 years, we have provided lifelong care for thousands

more. Through our extensive experience, we have learned that farm animals are interesting

individuals who have the same physical and behavioral needs, capacity for emotion, and range of

personalities that we all know to exist in dogs and cats.

In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, Dr. Jane Goodall writes that

“farm animals feel pleasure and sadness, excitement and resentment, depression, fear, and pain.

They are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined . . . they are individuals in their

own right.” And meat industry consultant Dr. Temple Grandin writes in Animals in Translation

that “when it comes to the basics of life . . . [other] animals feel the same way we do.”

It is with these observations in mind that we ask you to require that all farm animals in

Alaska: 1) be provided sufficient space to turn around and extend their limbs; and 2) not be

subject to any bodily mutilation unless that mutilation is specifically called for by relevant

veterinary bodies. These requirements would have the very important effect of prohibiting

battery cages for laying hens, gestation and veal crates for pregnant pigs and calves, and the tail

docking of dairy cows.

Gestation & Veal Crates

Immobilization of pigs and calves in crates is highly damaging for them, both physically and

mentally. First, the animals’ muscles and bones waste away from lack of use, so that walking

becomes excruciating; even standing up can be painful. Second, because the animals rub against

the bars of their crates and lie in their own excrement all day and night, they suffer painful

ammonia burns on their skin, and their lungs become raw from breathing putrid air. Third,

mother pigs in crates are in a constant state of starvation because they are fed about half of what

they would normally consume. Fourth, due to lack of exercise and decreased water consumption,

many sows suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs) so severe that UTIs are a leading cause of

death for crated sows. Try to imagine a worse way to die.

The situation is no better in terms of the animals’ mental health: Pigs are very social

animals who have cognitive and emotional capacities beyond those of dogs; in some areas, they

outperform chimpanzees. Cattle are similarly inquisitive and are also extremely social. So it's no

surprise that they suffer mental and emotional anguish when they're unable to move for most of

their lives. Dr. Grandin states unequivocally what the science proves—that other animals,

including pigs and cattle, share with humans the exact same core emotions and the same “four

basic social emotions,” one of which is the need to engage in social interaction with others. They

Page 2: The Inner World of Farm Animals - Farm Sanctuary · In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, ... some dairy producers continue to chop off ... and its final report

love to play, experience joy, and more. All of their natural desires are impossible when they are

confined in tiny crates. The relentless stress and frustration of confinement routinely leads to

mental instability, so that the animals chew maniacally on the bars in frustration, causing their

mouths to bleed from cuts and sores.

Battery Cages

Remarkably, battery cages have an even worse effect on birds than crates do on pigs and calves.

The cages are so small that not one hen could extend her limbs, and yet the industry stuff five or

more in each tiny cage. As you can imagine, the animals’ muscles and bones atrophy from lack

of use; by the time hens are removed from cages after about two years, all of them have suffered

from severe bone loss and one quarter suffer new bone breaks. For some birds, their skeletal

systems become so weak that their spinal cords deteriorate and they become paralyzed; the

animals then die from dehydration in their cages. This horrid situation is so common that the

industry has a term for it, “cage fatigue.” Additionally, standing and rubbing against wire cages

destroys the health of hens’ feathers and skin, and the birds’ overgrown claws often become

caught in cage wires; they either die where they are trapped, or they have to tear their skin to

escape. You can see all of this by reviewing the videos at EggIndustry.com or

MercyforAnimals.com; it is hard to imagine a life worse than that of a battery caged hen.

The emotional and psychological trauma for hens in cages is similar to that of mother

pigs in gestation crates. Chickens outperform both dogs and cats on tests of cognitive, emotional,

and behavioral complexity. As just one example, University of Bristol researchers have shown

that chickens have the capacity to delay gratification. Reporting on this research, Discovery

Magazine explained: “Chickens do not just live in the present but can anticipate the future and

demonstrate self-control … something previously attributed only to humans and other

primates…” In battery cages, these inquisitive and social animals—who are particularly doting

mothers—have their every natural desire frustrated. They never nest, perch, forage, take a dust

bath, or explore their surroundings. Their lives are categorized by unmitigated mental

suffering—from the moment they’re crammed into a cage until the moment they are torn from it

two years later.

Tail Docking

Obviously, amputation without pain relief is painful. Similarly obvious is the fact that cows need

their tails. Remarkably, some dairy producers continue to chop off cows’ tails with no pain relief

at all. Science proves that this procedure causes the animals’ severe pain and distress and that

without their tails, cattle are subject to increased painful fly strikes. The process continues out of

habit, despite having no support from the American Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian

Veterinary Medical Association, National Mastitis Council, National Milk Producers Federation,

or American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Explains Thomas Quaife, editor of Dairy Herd

Management, “[t]he cumulative body of research on tail docking speaks loudly … The dairy

industry should eliminate the routine practice of docking tails.” Please follow the lead of

California—the number one dairy state in the country—by banning the practice.

Conclusion

Alaska law Sec. 03.55.100(a)(2) provides that “[t]he minimum standards of care for animals

[shall] include . . . an environment compatible with protecting and maintaining the good health

and safety of the animal.” Crates for pigs or calves, cages for hens, and tail docking clearly

create an environment that harms the good health of the animals involved. Sec. 11.61.140(a)(1)

states that “[a] person commits cruelty to animals if the person knowingly inflicts severe and

prolonged physical pain or suffering on an animal.” The systems we’re discussion cause severe

and prolonged physical pain and suffering to the animals involved.

While there exists in the statute a legal escape hatch for systems that “conform[] to

accepted veterinary or animal husbandry practices,” the DEC laudably stated at a public

Page 3: The Inner World of Farm Animals - Farm Sanctuary · In her introduction to The Inner World of Farm Animals, ... some dairy producers continue to chop off ... and its final report

workshop last February that “the purpose of the standards is to ensure humane care.” If that is the

purpose, cages and isolation crates should be prohibited, as should pointless mutilations.

These are mainstream recommendations. The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm

Animal Production included a former USDA Secretary, a former Kansas governor, and multiple

farmers and ranchers. The commission heard from all sides and reviewed all the research on

housing systems, and its final report recommended a complete phase out of battery cages, veal

crates, and gestation crates. The nation’s largest veal producer has already gotten rid of veal

crates and the industry’s trade group has recommended that all veal producers follow suit. In

2012, the two best-known pork producers—Hormel and Smithfield—promised to stop using

gestation crates by 2017. The United Egg Producers is supporting legislation to phase out battery

cages and Burger King has promised to purchase only from cage-free suppliers by 2017. And

there is no longer a single dairy group that supports chopping off cows’ tails.

Thank you for your attention to these issues; I am at your disposal should you wish to

discuss anything in my letter or anything else with regard to the humane treatment of farm

animals.

Sincerely,

Bruce G. Friedrich

Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives