key farm animal welfare issues

 

Below are brief descriptions of farm animal welfare issues in Canada. More detailed information can be found at the links that follow.


Egg laying hens and battery cages

Egg-laying hens are typically housed in battery cages. The term “battery” refers to the stacked rows of cages (a battery of cages) in which thousands of hens are kept in large windowless barns. The wire cages are so small the hens cannot spread their winds, so barren that they have no nest in which to lay eggs and so restricting that the birds’ bones become brittle and can snap through lack of exercise. With 4-6 hens per cage, each hen lives her entire life in a space smaller than an 8½ by 11 inch piece of paper. They are caged like this all day, every day. After one or two years’ confinement, their only release is slaughter. More than 90 per cent of Canada’s 26 million hens are kept in cages like this. VHS is fighting to end the use of battery cages through our Chicken OUT! campaign.

 

Broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat)

The average broiler chicken is raised inside a large industrial barn in groups of 5,000 to 100,000 birds. They are mass-housed on the floor in crowded, barren buildings with automatic feeders and waterers. Broiler chickens are genetically selected for fast growth, resulting in skeletal deformities and lameness (due to stress on joints). In 1950 it took 84 days for a broiler chicken to reach market weight. By 1988 it took only 42 days to produce a 2 kg bird. The chickens spend more and more time just sitting as they approach their slaughter weight. Their inactivity is linked to chronic joint pain. In 2002, 608 million chickens were slaughtered for meat in Canada.


Turkeys

The life of a turkey is much like that of a broiler chicken. They are kept with thousands of other turkeys with no natural light and poor ventilation. Due to the stress of overcrowding, fighting and aggression, feather pecking can result. Turkeys usually have their beaks sliced off (without anaesthetic) to prevent the pecking from causing injuries. As a result of decades of breeding for higher meat production, turkeys can no longer breed naturally and females must be artificially inseminated. In 2003, 19.7 million turkeys were slaughtered in Canada.

 

Female pigs and sow stalls

The sow “stall” or “crate” keeps pregnant sows confined for most of their lives. The stalls are metal-barred cages about two feet wide by seven feet long. They are so small the sow cannot turn around. Instead, the pig’s movement is limited to one step forward or one step back. The sow has to eat, sleep, urinate and defecate in this tiny space. Prolonged confinement affects the sow’s health, often causing lameness, foot injuries, weakened bones and painful abrasions. Poor cardiovascular fitness causes some sows to die when they are transported. Sow stalls are being banned in Europe in 2012 and in California in 2015.


Dairy cows

Modern dairy cows have been manipulated and exploited to produce more milk than they would naturally. They are kept in a perpetual cycle of pregnancy and lactation, with their babies taken away when only hours old. Mother cows can suffer physically and psychologically as a result. Cows are typically good-natured, sensitive animals, but on an intensive dairy farm they can become nervous and high-strung. Milking and confinement can result in physical ailments. Swollen udders are a common and serious problem, resulting from constant milking that puts a strain on the udder. Lameness is another serious and painful ailment that results from standing on concrete floors and lack of exercise. Dairy cows are slaughtered prematurely due to lameness. The vast majority of hamburger meat comes from the bodies of slaughtered and ground up dairy cows.


Veal (the male calves of dairy cows) and veal crates

Veal is a by-product of the dairy industry. Dairy cows need to be kept constantly pregnant in order to produce milk for human consumption, resulting in many offspring. Most of the male calves produced are taken from their mothers as young as one or two days old to be shipped away and raised for veal. Those not sold for veal are culled within the first few days on farm. Veal calves are typically slaughtered at 14 to 16 weeks of age. In Canada in 2003, more than 300,000 calves were slaughtered for veal. Commonly, calves are kept in veal “crates” where they cannot turn or take more than one step forward or one step back, or are tethered to tiny plastic igloos that offer no protection from heat and cold. They spend their entire lives severely confined so their meat will be tender at the time of slaughter.

 

Beef cattle

Of all food animal production, beef production appears to have changed the least over the past 100 years. Cattle still spend much of their lives on the open range and mothers have the opportunity to interact naturally with their young. But cattle are still branded, castrated and dehorned – all painful procedures. The growing use of “feedlots” in the cattle industry also raises serious welfare concerns. Feedlots are used to “finish” cattle, bringing them up to the desired weight quickly and adding fat to make their meat appeal to consumers. Their diet is switched from mainly hay to mostly grain, which wreaks havoc with their digestive systems (as ruminants, cattle are suited to eating grass, not grain). Consequently, cattle suffer from bloating, diarrhea and extreme discomfort.


Farm animal transport

According to figures compiled by the BC SPCA from Canadian Food Inspection Agency statistics, between two and three million farm animals are found dead each year when trucks are unloaded at Canadian abattoirs (more commonly known as slaughterhouses). Exposure to harsh weather, rough handling and extremely cramped conditions on long journeys cause these animals to suffer and die painful deaths. According to regulations under the Health of Animals Act, cattle may be transported without food, water or rest for up to 52 hours (and the regulations are not adequately enforced). For pigs, horses, rabbits and poultry, the maximum transportation time is 36 hours.


Slaughter

Current systems for slaughtering farm animals often fail to ensure a humane death. Poultry for example, are shackled upside down by their feet, putting extreme stress on their joints (which are too often weak or damaged from rough handling, lack of exercise and breeding for fast growth). They are then conveyed to an electric stun bath to render them unconscious before having their throats slit. Not all birds are stunned however, leaving them to feel their throats being slit. Others make it alive all the way to the final scalding tank, where feathers are removed. More than 650 million farm animals are slaughtered in Canada each year.

 

Foie Gras

Foie Gras is the fatty liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed. A metal tube is inserted into the birds throats several times a day, starting when the birds about 12 weeks old and continuing for up to three weeks until they are slaughtered. The force-feeding is not only stressful and painful, but also requires confinement that prevents the birds from engaging in natural behaviours.

 

What can you do to help farm animals?


More information

This is just a brief overview of farm animal welfare issues. For more information please visit these links:

Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals (CCFA)
BC SPCA
Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (CETFA)
Beyond Factory Farming
Liberation BC