Highways to Hell: The Long-Distance Transport of Farmed Animals


Cattle being lifted two at a time by net off a ship at port in the PhilippinesBeing transported, whether to slaughterhouses or to “finishing” sites (for fattening prior to slaughter), is acknowledged as one of the most stressful events in the lives of farm animals—billions of whom make such final journeys annually around the world. The long trips, strange situations, lack of mobility, close quarters, exposure to temperature extremes, and crowding in with unfamiliar animals are all factors that cause stress and harm. The results include a high incidence of death and injuries—including bruising, broken bones, goring, and abrasions—as well as dehydration, heat stroke, and severe motion sickness, not to mention the spread of disease among animals and, beyond that, to humans. […]

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Horse Racing: Stop It (or At Least Reform It)


Because of its timeliness and interest, Advocacy for Animals is reprinting this article by RaeLeann Smith, which first appeared on the Britannica Blog. Although racing has a wide audience in the United States, few know how racehorses are bred, trained, and handled and what happens to those who are slow, are aging, or suffer injuries.

Barbaro, ridden by Edgar Prado, racing across the finish line to win the 132nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., May 2006Immediately after Eight Belles crossed the finish line in the Kentucky Derby on May 3, her two front ankles snapped and she collapsed. The young filly was euthanized in the dirt where she lay, the latest victim of the Thoroughbred racing industry.

The tragedy prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to call on the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to institute sweeping reforms to help prevent similar injuries and reduce animal suffering. Hollow expressions of sadness and regret are not enough. […]

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Family Pets: Victims of Hard Economic Times


Dog with "need a home" bandannaThe recent U.S. economic downturn has caused people to reduce their discretionary spending on things such as restaurants, clothing, and recreation, and falling home prices have led to foreclosures, builder bankruptcy, and loss of jobs in construction and mortgage brokerage firms. It has also created a new wave of pets who have lost their homes as a result of abandonment by their owners. […]

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Foie Gras: Too High a Price?


On May 14, 2008, by a vote of 37 to 6, the Chicago City Council repealed a ban on the sale of foie gras that had been in place in the city for nearly two years. Debate on the vote was avoided by means of parliamentary tactics used by Alderman Tom Tunney, a restaurant owner and former chair of the Illinois Restaurant Association, in alliance with Mayor Richard M. Daley, who, displeased with the ban, had publicly called it “silly.” Tunney used a procedural move to suppress floor debate and force a vote on overturning the ban. The restaurant association had previously challenged the foie gras ban in court, unsuccessfully; that challenge was led by Daley’s former chief of staff. This week Advocacy for Animals is rerunning our March 2007 article on foie gras, which discusses how foie gras is produced, some legal and ethical considerations, and the movement opposing the production and sale of this luxury commodity at the expense of the health and lives of birds. The original post and reader responses to it can be found here.

Foie grasFoie gras (French for “fat liver”), the enlarged liver of a duck or goose, is a food currently inciting much controversy. It is produced through the force-feeding of large quantities of grain to the bird, a process usually referred to by the French term gavage. Historically, foie gras was produced from geese; most today comes from ducks. Although foie gras is prized by many gourmets, it has been singled out, like fur and veal, by animal rights activists and some consumers as a product of unnecessary and offensive cruelty. […]

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