Tag: farm animals

HSUS, HSLF and partners urge Congress to end higher killing speeds at slaughterhouses

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes slower speeds are needed, recommending that facilities reduce their rates of animal processing to allow for critical social distancing measures. Photo by t-lorien/iStock.com

In recent weeks, even as slaughterhouses have emerged as hotspots for the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration has been quietly issuing record numbers of waivers for them to kill animals at higher speeds. Now, a coalition of animal welfare groups, workers groups and consumer organizations . . . 

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HSUS sues USDA over policies that risk future pandemics

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

Influenza spreads within factory farms directly from animal to animal or by way of workers, flies, manure, and rodents. When thousands of animals are tightly confined it creates a recipe for disaster, in which potential pathogens can recombine and generate viral forms with the ability to infect people.

Today the Humane Society of the United States filed a federal lawsuit challenging the response plan for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (or “bird flu”) of the United States Department of Agriculture. The response plan, produced by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, is shortsighted and . . . 

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More than 86 million egg-laying hens in the U.S. are now cage-free

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

While a cage-free setting is by no means an ideal environment, it is a much better alternative to a battery cage. Photo by David Paul Morris

New federal data released this month shows the enormous progress we have made toward the goal of ending the cruel cage confinement of farm animals in the United States. More than a quarter (26.2%) of eggs produced in our nation are now cage-free, according to . . . 

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Michigan passes law ending cages for hens; first Midwestern state to do so

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

Michigan is the fourth state in just the past year where we’ve secured a law that prohibits the caging of hens. Photo by David Paul Morris/For the HSUS

Moments ago, Michigan passed into law a ban on the production and sale of eggs from chickens locked in cruel cages. This is a remarkable and historic moment in our work to end the cage confinement of farm animals. Michigan is a major Midwestern agriculture . . . 

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Charging ahead with reforms for chickens

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Economy, Humane Society International, The Humane Society of the United States

In the United States, chickens make up a whopping nine billion of the roughly 10 billion land animals slaughtered each year. Photo by Burroblando/iStock.com

Only a few years ago, it may have appeared unfathomable for McDonald’s to make a commitment to use 100% cage-free eggs in its restaurants, or for poultry giant Perdue to announce game-changing reforms for chickens raised for meat. One might have never imagined entire states, . . . 

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States, localities forge ahead on banning puppy mills, cage confinement, killing contests and more

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife/Marine Mammals

Nevada became the second state in the country, after California, to pass a law banning cosmetics testing on animals. Photo by Bliznetsov/iStock.com

In May this year, Washington’s governor signed into law the strongest legislative protections for egg-laying hens anywhere in the world. Nevada became the second state in the country, after California, to pass a law banning cosmetics testing on animals. And New Mexico passed a law . . . 

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EPA gives factory farms a free pass on toxic air emissions

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

Factory farms confine many hundreds or thousands of animals such as dairy cows or pigs, or millions of smaller animals such as chickens, on each of their properties, causing not only an incredible amount of suffering, but also a staggering amount of urine and feces. Photo by Jim West/Alamy Stock Photo

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson In an unlawful move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to exempt massive factory farms from reporting their toxic air emissions — released from animal waste created by these facilities — to state and local authorities. The rule, . . . 

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Fast food chains are putting plant-based options on the menu

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Economy, The Humane Society of the United States

Clearly, plant-based foods have a bright future and one that couldn’t have come sooner, for the welfare of animals, the earth and humanity. Photo by nata_vkusidey/iStock.com

At the Super Bowl this year, we caught a glimpse of the future of food from an unlikely source: Carl’s Jr. During the big game, the fast food chain advertised its new Beyond Burger — a patty that tastes just like meat, but is entirely . . . 

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Earth Day, plant-based eating, and the future of our planet

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Economy, The Humane Society of the United States

Industrial animal agriculture is a nightmare for the planet, and has had, and continues to have, an inordinate impact on the environment. With Earth Day, and every other day in mind, we can take this challenge on in the most direct manner, by shifting our own diets toward climate-friendly, plant-based food. Photo by Alamy

I’m a mom and an animal protection advocate, and when I think about the health of our planet I can’t help but do so as someone who wants the best for my child and the billions of other young people whose lives depend on better . . . 

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With new scorecard, HSUS will hold food companies accountable on cage-free timelines

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Economy, Humane Society International, The Humane Society of the United States

Over the past decade, our Farm Animal Protection team has garnered commitments from major corporations to end cruel practices that were once accepted as industry norms, including cramming egg-laying hens into cages so tight that they can’t spread their wings. Photo by iStockphoto

Our dynamic Farm Animal Protection team has been responsible for a seismic shift in how the country’s largest food companies address animal welfare. From Walmart, Safeway and Kroger, to Denny’s, IHOP and Panera Bread, to Smithfield and Perdue, major corporations have worked with us to . . . 

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