Posted on 11/05/2008 9:48:28 AM PST by WilliamReading
11-05) 08:17 PST SACRAMENTO -- A measure that would ban farmers from raising egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant pigs in small cages and crates by 2015 appeared to be headed for victory this morning.
Supporters of Proposition 2 said the initiative would guarantee farm animals a better life, giving them the space they need to stand up, turn around, lie down and extend their wings, as well as prevent diseases caused by overcrowding.
Opponents argue that the measure would put California's egg industry out of business, as well as put consumers at risk for disease from imported eggs produced in countries with less stringent standards.
Voters seemed to be siding with the Humane Society of the United States, the backers of the initiative.
With 95 percent of the precincts reporting, the "Stop Animal Cruelty" measure was winning by 63 percent.
"California voters have taken a stand for decency and compassion and said that the systemic mistreatment of animals on factory farms cannot continue," said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief operating officer of the Humane Society. "All animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food."
Florida, Arizona, Colorado and Oregon have passed similar laws for swine and veal.
But California would be the first state in the nation to demand that all egg-producing chickens be kept in more spacious enclosures or free to roam around a henhouse.
Most pig and veal farmers in the state already have gone to larger pen sizes for their animals, making the battle mostly between poultry ranchers and animal-rights activists.
California produces about 6 percent of the nation's table eggs, a $330 million business in 2007. Fifty percent of the eggs sold in California come from other states.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
An effective ban on stock raising has long been a goal of Robert F Kennedy Jr. He is being considered for EPA chief by Obama apparently.
Maybe the good people in California will share some space so the chickens have more room to roam?
Come on, don’t be selfish!
How about you point to the passage which states this.
Proverbs 12:10:
“A righteous [man] regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked [are] cruel.”
- Proverbs 12:10
You belong in a small cage!
It is none of the Governments damn business. Is that so hard for you to understand? This is how most egg laying hens spend their lives.
You seem like one of those metrosexual pansy males who would vote for Obama.
Too bad people don’t care this much about the unborn.
And you sound like you're suffering from inadequacy issues. There is no good reason to torment animals that we use for food. They're already giving their lives to feed us, isn't that enough?
As far as my citing Proverbs, if you find that offensive, it's quite frankly your problem and not mine. I suggest you take it up with God.
Check my posting history, if you have any doubts about where my votes have landed. I didn't care much at all for McCain, never have, but I voted for Sarah Palin and her political future.
So, what are you, some sort of life-long McCainiac?
These things are gateways for animal rights activists to ban all animal production. That is the goal.
That's whats wrong with it.
What looks cruel to humans, is many times not to animals. Farmers must keep animals relatively comfortable, or the animals will not be productive.
Isn't that the truth.
That's whats wrong with it.
Won't be the first time a righteous concern about righting a wrong has been ridden to control by these socialists. Look at segregation and the Civil Rights movement. A desire to end segregation enforced by law led to the end of free association, among other things.
I think it’s admirable for farmers to be kind to their animals, and I might even agree to some regulation to that end. But:
Those who oppose this measure are not doing so out of “pro-animal cruelty”, but the recognition that the left systematically uses such seemingly well meaning regulations to strangle American industry.
Many people enthusiastically support the measure out of concern for animals, not realizing how damaging the result would be economically.
Defining existing standards as “cruel” is arguably analogous to including the putting of panties on someone’s head within the definition of “torture”.
Never said they were. I pointed out that there is a Biblical basis for avoiding unnecessary cruelty to animals. I'll admit that the notion of future broiler hens, with their beaks snipped off so they won't peck each other to death after going basically crazy in extremely close confines, does not whet my appetite, and I won't stand up for any "farmer" who would do such a thing. These aren't farmers, they're industrial processors. These practices were not borne of necessity, they were borne of a desire to increase productivity, and in turn, profit. Profit is good, when it's earned in a good way. My definition of good is derived from Biblical precepts. For others, apparently not. That's what voting is for, to establish the will of the people, in a municipality, a county, a state or a country. Californians did that. We're all still free to agree or to disagree, at least for now.
I’m surrounded by farms where I live, ohioman. I was raised surrounded by farms. My paternal grandparents were farmers, as were an uncle or two. None of them caged their chickens in a foot square, they had a decent sized coop and/or a fenced yard. With the exception of one neighbor of my parents, they were all good to their animals, and those still actively farming, still are. The one that was not good owned a large chicken operation, now defunct, for good reason, and is no longer farming. Piles of dead chickens with every heat wave, couldn’t be bothered to see to it that there was at least some air circulation in that long, low, tin-roofed chicken house. He’s active in the Democrat party now, and supported Obama. He also beat his dogs for no discernable reason at all. Not a happy man, but, he’s known prosperity of a sort.
Who cares. My grandfather owned a large chicken operation. Profit and meeting the large bills to run the operation was the reason he packed them in. And he loved chickens and always had quite a few “non-egg layers” roaming the farm.
It’s called a chicken tractor and it’s a great idea.
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html
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