In late July, the New Jersey Supreme court ruled that factory farming practices cannot be considered humane just because they are commonly and widely used. The lawsuit, brought by Farm Sanctuary along with a coalition of groups represented by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, began in 2004 after the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NDJA) gave blanket protection to all commonly used agricultural practices regardless of whether they constituted animal cruelty.
In a unanimous decision, the court struck down the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's regulations exempting all routine husbandry practices as "humane," and ordered the agency to readdress many of the state-mandated standards for the treatment of farm animals. - Environment News Service
This is a big win in the fight for more humane treatment of animals and sets a legal precedent for cracking down on factory farming abuses despite that many states exempt "routine" practices from their cruelty codes.
The court even went so far as to call out specific routine practices as problematic, including tail docking, castration, de-beaking and de-toeing, all commonly performed without the use of anesthesia.
The Court made clear that the decision to permit these practices as long as they are done by a "knowledgeable person" and in a way to "minimize pain" could not "pass muster." - Farm Sanctuary
Some feel the court missed an opportunity to go further and take on the practices of breeding pigs and calves in crates and transporting sick and downed cattle. The Court argued that at this point, the argument for striking down the regulation was insufficient, though they did acknowledge that downed cattle "suffer greatly".
Nationally, public consciousness about factory farming practices and animal cruelty seems to be deepening, particularly after the release of some truly horrifying images from Hallmark Meat Company back in February of this year.
In April, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production released the results of a two and a half year study that supports a phaseout of common factory farming practices such as the use of gestation crates, farrowing crates, tethering, forced feeding, tail docking, and other body-altering procedures that cause pain. - Environment News Service
Florida, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado have already outlawed gestation crates, with Arizona and Colorado also banning the use of veal crates. California will have an anti-confinement initiative on the November ballot which would outlaw gestation crates and battery cages for hens. Considering that California is the largest agriculture state in the U.S., if the measure passes, it could have far-reaching implications in preventing some forms of factory farming cruelty. But perhaps not far enough.
The current industrial farm animal production (IFAP) system often poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves, according to an extensive 2½-year examination conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP), in a study released today.
Commissioners have determined that the negative effects of the IFAP system are too great and the scientific evidence is too strong to ignore. Significant changes must be implemented and must start now. And while some areas of animal agriculture have recognized these threats and have taken action, it is clear that the industry has a long way to go. - Pew Charitable Trusts
Between the public health risks from pathogen concentration and overuse of antibiotics creating antimicrobial resistant bacteria, the environmental risks from methane, CO2 and other emissions (18% of greenhouse gases), ammonia release and waste runoff carrying antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, and heavy metals, and the issue of animal cruelty, the factory farming system must be seriously re-though on every level or it must be abandoned.
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