Farm Animals
King Delivers Legislative Kudzu in Farm Bill
As members of Congress leave Washington today and return to their districts for the August recess, opposition to the Farm Bill amendment introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is swelling. The King amendment is a sort of legislative kudzu, so invasive and dangerous it could . . .
Ag-Gag Bills Bite the Dust
As our society makes continuing progress on animal welfare, exposing cruelty and creating social, corporate and public policy standards, there’s an inevitable backlash from the industries that want to continue to do things just the same as always. I’ve written about the funded brand attack . . .
Steve King on Mules – and Pigs and Puppies
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is again in the news for embarrassing, offensive statements – this time for his rants about immigrants and immigration policy. He told an Iowa radio show host that undocumented immigrant children are often drug mules who carry illegal substances across the . . .
One Step Forward, One Big Step Back in Congress
Today, there was a positive step forward on Capitol Hill in the effort to get laboratory chimps to sanctuaries, but there was a setback in the House with the passage of a highly partisan, retrograde Farm Bill that could set back state policies on animal . . .
The Repercussions of Callousness, Carelessness, and Cruelty
I often say there are bad outcomes all around when humans are bad to animals. When we at The HSUS work with law enforcement on raids of dogfights and cockfights, we often find other criminal behavior is taking place in these situations, like narcotics trafficking . . .
Problems with USDA Oversight at Slaughter Plants
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McGraw of the Kansas City Star wrote a front-page story this past weekend about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s failure to consistently enforce federal animal welfare laws at slaughter plants, particularly for pigs. In addition to recounting details of a recent . . .
Independent Reports Highlight Problem with Federal Programs Related to Animal Treatment, Enforcement
We’ve seen some positive action from the federal executive agencies lately – for example, a Department of the Interior proposed listing of all chimpanzees as endangered, and a favorable U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement to close a loophole dealing with downer cows. We’ve also seen some . . .
The King (Amendment) Is Dead. Long Live the Animals
Today, in an unprecedented outcome in the history of congressional action on the Farm Bill, the full House rejected the bill advanced to the floor by House leadership. The HSUS and a large coalition of organizations opposed the bloated, regressive potpourri of agriculture-related measures for a . . .
House Leaders Block Series of Animal Welfare Votes
Look at the history of any social reform movement, and you’ll see heroes who led the way. Yet the historical record is also peppered with people who did the opposite, blocking progress by any means they could muster. Those leaders and those obstructionists also did their handiwork in . . .
Animal Welfare May Take Center Stage As House Takes Up Farm Bill
On Friday, the California-based Santa Rosa Press Democrat published an editorial calling out the hypocrisy of the Farm Bill amendment introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, “who will enthusiastically tell you that Washington meddles too much in state and local affairs. Until he disagrees with . . .
Progress for Farm Animals in Canada, Tragedy in China
Our global movement against intensive confinement of animals on factory farms gained major momentum with the release of a proposed new policy in Canada, coming from the National Farm Animal Care Council, which sets farm animal welfare policy in the country. This draft Code of . . .
Inspector General, Smithfield Make News on Pig Production
Yesterday’s news that a massive Chinese meat producer, Shuanghai, has agreed to pay $4.7 billion to acquire American pork giant Smithfield Foods was a jarring reminder of the trend toward an increasingly centralized global trade in farm animals. While demand for meat in the U.S. . . .
