Farm Animals
Campaign against Gestation Crates is Right on Target
I’ve said a few times before on this blog that there’s no future for gestation crate production in the pork industry. With today’s announcement that Target is planning a phase-out of gestation crates, that’s more evident than ever. Target is the nation’s fourth-largest food retailer with . . .
Californians Can Protect Animals and Support Law Enforcement by Passing Proposition 30
At The HSUS, we spend a lot of energy working to secure the passage of meaningful reforms to state laws around the country—believing that when the laws reflect our values, animals not only benefit, but that our society becomes increasingly more humane. Gov. Brown's dog, . . .
Another Hallmark/Westland Investigation Milestone
In early 2008, The Humane Society of the United States released an investigation showing appalling and unacceptable treatment of dairy cows too sick or injured to walk at the Hallmark/Westland slaughter plant in Chino, Calif. The case set off riots in South Korea (the number-two . . .
Pigs Are Made to Move, Not to Live in Solitary Confinement
Domesticated pigs have been around for thousands of years. Gestation crates, which are small metal cages used to permanently immobilize pregnant sows, have been a standard industry practice for just about 40 years. Yet industrial-style pork producers actually want to mislead Americans into thinking that . . .
Third-Quarter Favorites: Protecting Dogs, Horses, Pigs, and Animals in Labs
I like to look ahead on the blog, report on major action items, take on our critics, or opine on a major fault line or controversy within our field. It’s also my custom, each quarter, to look back and provide a summary of which blogs . . .
Tyson Foods Needs to Get on Board with Animal Welfare
I’ve been a vegan for 28 years now. So it feels a little strange for me to be running for a slot on the board of directors of Tyson Foods, the second-largest meat company in the world and one of the behemoths of industrialized agribusiness. . . .
Talk Back: A Good Week for Pigs, Chimpanzees, Bears, and Hounds
Take the pledge to help more pigs. It’s been a week filled with meaningful achievements on the animal protection front. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed more than a half-dozen animal protection bills backed by The HSUS, including a ban on hound hunting of bears and . . .
More Progress on Gestation Crates, and Uncovering the ‘Ham Scam’
It is an axiom in the world of business management that “the customer is always right.” The pork sector apparently doesn’t subscribe to that principle. The industry’s leadership continues to deride its biggest buyers, most of which are declaring that they want to eliminate gestation . . .
Federal Court Upholds California’s Historic Prop 2 Ballot Measure
Of all the victories for animal protection in recent decades, California’s 2008 Proposition 2 ballot measure stands out as one of the biggest and most far-reaching. It was one the most comprehensive farm animal protection measures ever attempted, launched in the largest state in the . . .
It’s Time to Unite for Animals
Our anti-gestation crate campaign is something of a locomotive barreling down the tracks and heading in the direction of the finish line—which, in my mind, is the day that these extreme confinement crates are relegated to the dustbin of history. I don’t know when that . . .
SUBWAY Restaurants Condemns Controversial Pig Cages, Will Work with Pork Suppliers to Improve Animal Welfare
The first SUBWAY restaurant opened up in my home state of Connecticut in 1965, the year I was born. The company has done a lot of growing since then. SUBWAY Restaurants has annual sales topping $1 billion and more locations (37,000) than any other restaurant . . .
Moving Forward for Pets and Farm Animals in the Heartland
I’ve just returned from a tour of the heartland–Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska–where I talked to HSUS supporters, leaders, staff members from other animal welfare organizations, farm groups, and farmers. I visited animal shelters and spay/neuter clinics, and I also got a first-hand look at . . .
