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Full-Text Articles in Animal Studies
The Welfare Of Animals In The Meat, Egg, And Dairy Industries
The Welfare Of Animals In The Meat, Egg, And Dairy Industries
Agribusiness Reports
Each year in the United States, approximately 11 billion animals are raised and killed for meat, eggs, and milk. These farm animals—sentient, complex, and capable of feeling pain and frustration, joy and excitement—are viewed by industrialized agriculture as commodities and suffer myriad assaults to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, typically denied the ability to engage in their species-specific behavioral needs. Despite the routine abuses they endure, no federal law protects animals from cruelty on the farm, and the majority of states exempt customary agricultural practices—no matter how abusive—from the scope of their animal cruelty statutes. The treatment of farm …
Welfare Issues With Selective Breeding Of Egg-Laying Hens For Productivity
Welfare Issues With Selective Breeding Of Egg-Laying Hens For Productivity
Agribusiness Reports
Today’s commercial laying hens have been selectively bred to produce more than 250 eggs per year. This unnaturally high level of productivity is metabolically taxing, often causing hens to suffer from “production diseases,” including osteoporosis and accompanying bone fractures, and can lead to reproductive disorders. Research suggests that the problem of osteoporosis may be worsening, possibly due to industry’s continuous push toward maximizing productivity. For decades, economic considerations have been valued and emphasized over the welfare of individual birds. An immediate change in priorities is needed to aggressively address welfare problems associated with selective breeding for egg production.