An Overview of Animal Welfare & Animal Rights

1. An Overview of Animal Welfare & Animal Rights http://www.agednet.com Topic #3013 Tracey Hoffman http://www.agednet.com

2. Overview • Definitions • Activists charges • How producers can respond to activists views • Setting the standards • Animals in research

3. Why is this an issue? • America’s idea of what a farm should be • Grazing pastures • Ideas come from children books, TV, etc. • What America’s farms are becoming • Confinement rearing • Large scale production http://www.agednet.com

4. Animal Welfare • Proper care of animals • Humane treatment is supported by producers • Proper treatment keeps animals more productive • Humans have more rights than animals, BUT are responsible for humane treatment

5. Animal Rights • Animals have legal and ethical rights, just as humans • Feel animals suffer unnecessary pain & stress • Want animal agriculture abolished • Extreme views are to eliminate animal use • food, clothing, leisure, or research

6. Activists charges producers: • Pumping drugs into animals • Undue stress on the animals • Confinement jeopardizes animal and human health • Raising animals in pens and crates is cruel treatment

7. Activists charges, continued… • Eating meat and eggs is unhealthy • Drinking milk is unhealthy • Grain fed to livestock should be used to feed starving people around the world • Using a growth-promoting hormone is cruel to animals • Produces meat that is not safe for humans to eat

8. Producers response to overcrowding... • Most producers won't overcrowd because it is very unprofitable • Animals must be kept reasonably comfortable • Animals are kept well fed to assure a productive growth or a profitable level of milk production • Overcrowding reduces rate of gain http://www.agednet.com

9. Producers response to drugs and antibiotics... • All drugs that are used for livestock are regulated by the federal government • Regulations keep food safe for U.S. consumers • All animal health products are thoroughly tested and must be approved by FDA • On average, it takes 11 years to bring an animal pharmaceutical to the market • Only one in about 7,500 chemicals tested are ever approved http://www.agednet.com

10. Producers response to growth hormones... • Increase feed efficiency which reduces food costs • Improve the ratio of meat to fat • Products are generally estrogen-like substances • Estrogen is a natural substance • There is more estrogen in a cup of green beans than in a comparable amount of beef from an implanted steer.http://www.agednet.com

11. What producers are doing... • Support and promote human treatment of animals • Do all they can to make sure animals are not mistreated • Keep public and media well informed on what they are doing to protect the welfare of their animals

12. What does it mean to be treated humanely? • That means animals are • well fed • have adequate • water • space • shelter • kept healthy and comfortable

13. Setting the standards... • In early times, each farmer decided • In current times • Pork Producers Code of Practice • Swine Care Handbook • Cattlemen's Philosophy • Three P's • prevention • preparation • prompt action http://www.nppc.org

14. Economic benefits of good animal welfare... • Bruises cost the U.S. beef industry $1.00 per animal on feedlot beef and $3.91 per animal on cows and bulls (Colorado State University, 1992; 1995) • The U.S. pork industry loses $0.34 per pig due to PSE and $0.08 per pig due to bruises (National Pork Producers' Association, 1994)

15. Animals in research... • Important for agriculture and human medicine • Limits on animal research would threaten advances in medicine • Public opinion nor scientist opinion is consistent • More concern over use of dogs & cats than rats & mice http://www.agednet.com

16. Discussion... http://www.grandid.com