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Old 01-20-2010, 08:44 PM   #1
Fruriourl

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Default Beware The HSUS Bait-and-Switch
Beware The HSUS Bait-And-Switch











The Humane Society of the United States recently asked for “heightened attention” on the subject of animal agriculture in its January edition of The Scoop, an e-newsletter targeted at employees of animal shelters. HSUS CEO and President Wayne Pacelle issued the letter in response to recent proactive measures by the agriculture industry to educate voters about modern farming practices, such as Ohio’s Issue 2.

Pacelle attempted to twist the motives of agriculture organizations, saying that farm groups are trying to “divide the humane community in order to undermine support for humane reforms in agriculture.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Alliance constantly encourages the agricultural community to work with and support their local animal shelters. But past actions of the HSUS show that it isn’t interested in improving animal welfare -- the organization is working to put a stop to animal agriculture as we know it. Egg producers in California are currently struggling to come to terms with the vaguely-worded Proposition 2 that HSUS spent millions to pass in 2008. Pacelle has already stated his intentions of bringing similar measures to other states, as well.

It’s HSUS that is trying to deceive the public- not farmers. The group is currently sponsoring a ballot initiative in Missouri that would limit the number of dogs that a breeder can own to 50. While HSUS says that the measure is designed to put a stop to puppy mills, it would set a dangerous precedent that could be used to impose future limits on the number of farm animals kept on a property. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar “puppy mill” bill for its potential to criminalize legal activity, stating, “An arbitrary cap on the number of animals any entity can possess throughout the state will not end unlawful, inhumane breeding practices.”

It’s apparent that HSUS is not happy that agriculture groups are pointing out the difference between the multi-million dollar animal rights organization and local shelters. Farmers and ranchers care deeply about their animals -- it makes sense for farmers and ranchers to support the work of local animal shelters. Too often, animal lovers who mean well donate to HSUS thinking that it will save homeless pets, when in reality the money goes toward furthering the group’s political agenda.

The increased activity of animal rights groups will be one of the hot topics at the 9th Annual Stakeholders Summit, which will be held in Arlington, VA on April 28-29.

Source: Kay Johnson Smith, CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Beware-...spx?oid=976772
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Old 01-20-2010, 08:52 PM   #2
VEGLAS - SPB

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Farmers and ranchers care deeply about their animals I have an issue with this. The american farming machine is not run by the farmer but rather by the corporation who buys the end product. Thats why chicken farmers are forced to farm their chickens in the same way providing zero light for the entire life of the chickens. These same practices are resulting in increased cases of food poisoning from E.coli and various other health issues which are causing people to die.
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Old 01-20-2010, 08:57 PM   #3
Tusethede

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It’s HSUS that is trying to deceive the public...

Surprise, Surprise! The HSUS deceiving people? No way. LOL.

There are plenty of Chicken farmers around here, Most of them give their chickens to Tyson, and I haven't seen anything wrong with their practices.

Around here, the lights are on consistently. You always know where a chicken farm is, if not by the smell, then by the lights.
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Old 01-20-2010, 09:15 PM   #4
gambleingsites

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I have an issue with this. The american farming machine is not run by the farmer but rather by the corporation who buys the end product. Thats why chicken farmers are forced to farm their chickens in the same way providing zero light for the entire life of the chickens. These same practices are resulting in increased cases of food poisoning from E.coli and various other health issues which are causing people to die.
not sure about your area, but here in texas that would be pure nonsense... in fact, when i was young I worked at a hatchery and delivered the chicks to the farmers...
in the chicken houses here in texas the lights are on 23 hours a days... they are turned off one hour each night so the chickens are used to some dark in case of a power failure, so they do not panic...
chickens are almost force fed so that they have the weight they need to have to be profitable when sold, ususally the chickens are only about 6 weeks old when butchered.. they are a hybrid bred to grow quickly and produce meat... there likely would be zero cases of chickens being raised in the dark. they do not eat in the dark.. you want them to eat... skinny chickens make you no money.. no money.. no business...
the typical east texas chicken house holds 16,000 chicks, the typical farmer will rotate out 4 to 8 chicken houses... so that is 64,000 to 128,000 chickens... a quarter pound difference off of normal projected weight can cost him a bundle... lights are on so the chicks eat...
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Old 01-20-2010, 09:22 PM   #5
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That should have been zero daylight. I think Tyson may well be one of the offending companies I have heard about. There are some farmers who want to actually farm their animals rather than work them in a production line. I have heard of many of these farmers losing their supply contracts because they wouldn't produce the chickens in the exact way the company stipulated. Its the same for almost everything produced. The seed companies want their seeds used and have taken farmers to court and literally destroyed them for saving seed to plant the following year.

Sometimes just because someone holds a different viewpoint to you doesn't make their comments any less valid. There are probably some things the HSUS does which are suspect, just as the SPCA does here, but every statement or comment they make should be subjected to critical thinking rather than believe they have done something you disagree with in the past so everything they say and do must be wrong.

Of course not being in the US I have had zero dealings with the HSUS so I can only comment from a theoretical perspective.
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Old 01-20-2010, 09:30 PM   #6
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zero daylight is not the cause of ecoli either.. but none the less.. here in texas zero daylight is not realistic either.. the houses are not air conditioned and many have ventilation fans and adjustable sides to reduce heat load.. so there is daylight, it is just indirect as the houses have roofs..
how much control the companies like tyson and pilgrims and the others have over the farmer is going to depend on the farmer and the contract.. if the farmer owns his own houses he had much more control.. if the companies have financed the houses, they have much more control of the contract until the houses are paid off.. the companies provide everything the farmer needs,, the chicks, the feed, the houses and equipment and the company buys the chicks back when grown... so the more of the process that the farmer owns, the more control he has over the process...
since you are not from the US, how does it work where you are?
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Old 01-20-2010, 09:43 PM   #7
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Here its kind of out of sight out of mind. Some places have a hen house with a paddock for the chickens to roam in during the day. Normally the hen house has the paddock divided into perhaps 6 areas and different doors can let the chickens into different areas. This may be more for the layers I believe. I've never farmed chickens but I believe we use something similar with a bunch of chickens, possibly in batterys, although again that could just be for the layers.

We are currently facing discussions over raising beef in intensive farming barn type situations. This is a MAJOR cause of E. coli in the food that we eat. Because the animals must stand around ankle deep in their own waste rather than grazing in open pasture, the levels build up a lot. I'm told that around 3 days in open pasture will reduce the bacteria levels by around 80% again but open pasture means arid regions can't produce the high numbers of stock that can be produced in the cattle station farming situation. (I forget the name they use for it now).

Having said that, I forget the figures, but a modern farm can produce something like food for 30 people per acre compared to around 8people/acre 50 years ago. Its all about cost and benefit.
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Old 01-20-2010, 11:02 PM   #8
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Well, as I said, most of the Chicken Farmers around here give their chickens to Tyson, and I haven't seen any horrible or shady about it.
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