New Jersey suit a test case on farm animal cruelty

[deadparrot]

TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - New Jersey allows cruelty to farm animals by failing to ban practices such as castration without anesthetic, animal rights activists said on Wednesday in a lawsuit that might help set national standards for the treatment of livestock.

Groups including the Humane Society of the United States and Farm Sanctuary said the state Department of Agriculture had failed to establish humane standards for farm animals as required by a law implemented in 2004.

New Jersey is the only state requiring officials to set humane standards for the treatment of farm animals, and enforcing the measure could lead to better treatment of livestock across the country, said Gene Baur, president of Farm Sanctuary.

Lawyers for the groups told a panel in the appellate division of New Jersey Superior Court that the state had bowed to the farm industry by allowing inhumane methods to persist on the grounds they are common practice for farmers and agricultural colleges.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061213/us_nm/animal_rights_dc

[xchrom]

1. woo-hoo!!!

we need to make huge strides championing the lives of farm animals.

of course ONE WAY would be to promote small farmers over corporations --

but i'm thrilled at what i can get in this case.

[AtomicKitten]

2. Factory farming is something that really needs regulation.

It entails horribly cruel treatment with a plethora of health hazards for both the animals and the general public.

[happyslug]

26. The aim of this law suit is the small farmer not the Factory Farm

Remember the Factory Farm can buy any medication in bulk (and often do, for example Penicillin in keep their animals healthy in an unhealthy environment AND to speed up the fattening process, it is the main reason Penicillin in of very little use as an anti-biotic today, overuse by Factory Farms).

Thus it is the small farmers who generally doe sit the way his ancestor did it centuries ago. Thus this action is aimed at the small farmer to force him or her to hire a vet to apply the medicine whenever castration is done. This additional costs may drive many out of the business which may be why the bill passed in the first place. Remember New Jersey is a highly urbanized state, as such you have very few farms raising animals for meat consumption (You have many horse farms for people to ride Horses which bring sin more money than raising cattle. In Western Pennsylvania where I live you do NOT see cattle in the area near the Urban center, but you do see Horses. You start to see Cattle as you vacate Suburbia, but as long as you are in Suburbia it is horses not cattle that is main animal product.

[flvegan]

3. Sweet!!

Wait'll Big Ag/Big Beef gets wind of this...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Get a hold of the May 2006 issue of Harper's

which contains a horrific article on the factory farming of pigs.

Since then, I have eaten only pasture-raised pork, which is fortunately available at my local co-op.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Anasthesia, eh?

Won't that result in animals dying from anasthesia?

[WindRavenX]

6. It's sure a lot more humane than being killed while being conscious

Castration without any pain killers...jeebus.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Yeah, but it's less dangerous without anasthesia.

At least I think it is. I'm not a large animal vet. But I thought that's pretty much the reason they don't use anasthesia. Not sure what it's got to do with factory farms either. Family farms have been castrating farm animals without anasthesia for thousands of years.

[WindRavenX]

8. Wouldn't it be less dangerous with anasthesia?

Some of the sedatives my professor uses when he darts white tailed deer have an average induction time of like 8-15 minutes-- but the animal is easier to handle sedated than if my professor tries to radio collar a deer using a clover trap.

Personally, I think many of the safety issues that come from these issues are because factory farms are by nature inhumane. There are humane ways to kill animals for food, and from what I've read, factory farms are very inhospital to moving towards standardize humane killing procedures.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. No, I don't think so.

For wild animals, yes it's necessary, just for handling them.

But with domesticated farm animals you can handle them without anasthesia. So they can go through the stress of castration, or the stress of castration and anasthetizing. I've known vets who've lost animals because of anasthesia that just went in for routine neutering.

"There are humane ways to kill animals for food, and from what I've read, factory farms are very inhospital to moving towards standardize humane killing procedures."

Very well could be, but I don't think it's universal to all factory farms, nor are there things that happen on factory farms that don't happen on factory farms, I'd wager.

[WindRavenX]

13. even so....

...even if it is safer to handle domestic beasts w/out sedation, I find it deeply unethical to make a sentinel being suffer through something like that. Surely a safe and humane way of castration or slaughter can be utilized?

[AlienGirl]

15. The cost would be prohibitively high

It is cheaper to have a ranch hand just cut the sack and pull out the testes than it is to have a vet administer anesthetic and do it painlessly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcX448qqU7E

Tucker

[WindRavenX]

16. I have a huge problem with this, ethically

If this is the case, I am just finding out now. And I'm quite sickened :(

[AlienGirl]

18. It is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkavHZL9kPU

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. I wonder what they plan on doing about docking.

Or all the other procedures.

[AlienGirl]

20. They are almost all done without painkillers of any kind

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Yeah, that's my point.

Is anybody going to argue that docking without anasthesia is animal cruelty?

[AlienGirl]

22. The same people have argued that, as well--this is not new

[achtung_circus]

28. Most docking

is of sheep. It is done with an elastrator, a rubber band that is placed between the vetebral joints of the tail. It causes numbness, atrophy and then the tail falls off. It is done primarily for sanitary reasons. We have bred sheep into a creature that has a perfect breeding ground for fly strike and infection between its legs.

In the case of dairy cattle, an elastrator is used as well. It was initially thought that the process would keep cows cleaner and reduce contaminants in milk. Research indicates no difference in milk quality between docked and undocked cows. Therfore there is no reason for the practice to continue, as it undoubdedly causes distress to the cow, primarily when she lays down with the stump in contact with the floor.

I note a rapid and regular reduction in the incidence of tail docking in the dairy cattle I see.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Yeah, I know.

I'm saying if unanesthetized castration of bulls is banned, I'd imagine it'd set precedent for docking of sheep, and other "surgical" operations of farm animals. I can't recall the term for the permanent bending of bull penises either, but that's another example.

My point being that this would require radical changes in farming, truck farming as well as family farming.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. They could always not castrate.

It'd lower the cost of lamb and veal.

I kid, I kid.

[happyslug]

25. Castrate male hogs to avoid the male hormones from ruining the taste of the meat.

In days when Oxen was used, male Oxen would be Castrated when quite young so that they did not become "active" do to hormones kicking in when a female ox went into heat. Male horses were (and are) castrated for the same reason (As are Male Mules, Male mules are generally sterile but Hormones still kick in).

Thus Castration is often done to minimize the aggressiveness of Male Animals or (in the case of pigs) to avoid the effect of Male Hormones have on the meat of the Animal.

[happyslug]

24. Most ot the Cases I heard and saw use red hot instruments.

The reason is you both remove the testes AND cauterize the wound in one quick operation. It is much like branding, quick to minimize the pain.

[achtung_circus]

29. Do you have a source for that?

I have never heard of hot iron cauterization or castration in any species that I've been involved with. Elastrator, yes, pocket knife, sure, Burdizzo, yup. Hot iron? No.

[happyslug]

34. That is what my father used when he did it over 40 years ago.

Now that was on pigs, but I suspect it was on other animals also. I believe I even have the iron tongs he used. You just heated them up, and grabbed the young pig and the operation was over in seconds. Now I was quite young and may be confused (I was about 5) but that is my memory of it.

[achtung_circus]

27. Humane slaughter

is not a farm (factory or family) issue. It is a slaughterhouse issue.

[AlienGirl]

9. No, it's just cheaper

They could use a local with no risk of killing the animal; the limiting factor is the expense!

Tucker

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Well, yeah, there's that too.

[AlienGirl]

12. That is the biggest issue.

[WindRavenX]

14. Bleh

I'd pay extra to know the meat I'm getting was humanely killed.

(then again, I already do-- non-caged chicken eggs cost nearly 3 bucks more than regular eggs, but I believe in putting my money where my beliefs are)

[doodadem]

23. Give them local anesthesia

We just had our baby pygmy goat neutered (had to--of our 3 other goats, one is his mom, one his sister). Goats do not do well under general anesthesia. So the vet injected his scrotum with lidacain, gave that time to work, and viola--relatively painless and safe neutering. I held him in my lap the whole time.

Also anesthetized our pet Brahma steer when the vet castrated him, which the locals thought was totally foolish. Long time ranchers just don't care if there's pain involved--they're just dumb animals. But, if they are already putting them in the cattle squeeze, which they have to do to castrate them, why can't they inject them with a local first? Would not be nearly as expensive as general anesthesia, and much, much more humane.

[achtung_circus]

30. There are also topical Lidocaine sprays available. nt.

[AlienGirl]

31. Not cost-effective, American consumers want "always the low prices"

Imagine if it's only $.03 for the local anesthetic, and takes only five minutes to fully numb the scrotum. Multiply that $.03 by 50,000 head of cattle, and the two minutes it takes for a cut-and-pull job or to attach an Elastrator (which strangulates the scrotum so it rots and falls off on its own, but is also obviously painful, I can find you videos--that is, if you believe animals feel pain, and you think that matters, which most people do not) and you're adding maybe $.15 to the cost of a Big Mac...

Tucker

[HuffleClaw]

33. wanting 'humane' treatment for animals that are being raised to be EATEN

is a tad amusing not to mention oxymoronic.

[AlienGirl]

35. Not really

One can argue for a creature's right not to be in pain without arguing that it has an inviolable right to life.

In fact, that's an essential part of kosher slaughter rules, that animals who are to be eaten must be killed in the least painful way with the least stress possible*. The animal's life is not counted on a level equal to that of a human, but its interests in being free of pain and fear are still respected.

Tucker


*This meant, historically, opening the veins in the neck with a knife sharp enough a human can't feel it; properly done, the animal would lose consciousness in seconds without feeling the blade.

[achtung_circus]

37. Yeah, who care how we treat them?

The righteous man regardeth his flock, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Proverbs, 10:12

[enki23]

36. ban castration without anesthetic?

better get used to eating bullock and boar meat. bullock isn't that bad, but boar?

oh, and you'd kill more with anesthesia too. a lot more.

[bitchkitty]

38. Disgusts me -

The attitude by some is "so what?" They're going to be killed anyway...

I'm so glad I don't eat meat anymore.