KEEP DANGEROUS LANGUAGE OUT OF THE FARM BILL
U.S. Congress is considering a Farm Bill that threatens decades of animal protection laws. Let your representatives know you oppose any language in the upcoming bill that puts animals at risk!
WHAT IS THE U.S. FARM BILL?
Animals face an uncertain future as Congress considers a Farm Bill that puts the lives of millions of cows, pigs and chickens at risk of extreme suffering.
The Farm Bill comes around once every five years. It gives Congress the opportunity to improve our food system and the lives of animals. The House and the Senate have the opportunity to present their versions of the Farm Bill. In the House, Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson recently shared his intention to pass a version that could put animals and humans at risk.
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR ANIMALS
Thompson is proposing language that would prohibit states from making decisions on agricultural products. This means a state cannot decide to ban the sale of products produced through cruel methods, such as confining hens, mother pigs and calves used for veal inside tiny cages.
The United States’ strongest animal protection law, Proposition 12, and Massachusett’s Question 3—both of which ban the production and sale of products produced in this way—are under threat.
The proposed language doesn’t stop at animals. By taking away a state’s right to regulate its agricultural products, this version of the Farm Bill also raises concerns regarding child labor, puppy mills, and protection against lead poisoning.
The most basic protections are at risk, but you hold tremendous power. You can give animals a protected future by reaching out to legislators and asking them to keep this language out of the Farm Bill.
It took decades to pass laws that provide even the most basic protections to some farmed animals. Now, Congress is trying to erase that progress to prioritize meat and dairy profits, but we will not let it happen.
Sharon Núñez
Animal Equality President & Co-founder
WHAT WOULD THE CURRENT FARM BILL ALLOW?
Pregnant pigs would be forced back into cages so small they couldn’t even turn around or take more than a step forward or backward.
Hens would be confined inside so-called ‘battery cages,’ which allows them no more than a living space the size of a sheet of paper.
Newborn calves will live a life chained behind metal bars to prevent them from moving and keep their flesh lean for veal.
There is hope FOR ANIMALS IN THE FARM BILL
The House and the Senate have the opportunity to present their versions of the Farm Bill. While the House has proposed a version with dangerous language for animals, the Senate Farm Bill has a chance to protect horses.
Every year, thousands of U.S. horses are transported to Canada and Mexico and then slaughtered for human consumption. Although the United States has effectively banned horse slaughter within its borders, approximately 24,000 horses are exported every year.
Many consider these sensitive and intelligent animals companion animals, but they are treated as commodities in this global trade. They suffer not only in slaughterhouses but also during long-distance transport between countries.
Animal Equality, along with fellow animal protection organizations, are supporting the SAFE Act and urging its inclusion in the Senate Farm Bill. If passed, the SAFE Act would ban the exportation of horses from the U.S. to other countries for slaughter.
By joining our team of Animal Protectors, you will be the first to know of actions to take to support this crucial ban on horse slaughter!
THE SLAUGHTER OF AMERICAN HORSES
Animal Equality has investigated the slaughter of American horses in Mexico–finding that the animals were often killed while conscious, causing them unnecessary and unjustifiable suffering.
An Animal Equality investigator documented American horses awaiting their killing at a slaughterhouse in Zacatecas, Mexico. The yellow United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stickers identify the horse’s origin, which an on-site veterinarian later confirmed.