Farmed Animals

Daily Livestock Report

Carol L. Glasser — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:45:00 -0800

This short summary of USDA data on per capita meat consumption shows a slight reduction in overall meat consumption in the US in 2010, compared to the previous year.

Study Says Consumers Favor National Egg Legislation

Carol L. Glasser — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:45:00 -0800

Legislation was introduced to the US congress in January 2012 that would require egg producers to switch from conventional cages to "enriched cages." Enriched cages refer to "colony housing," which would need to be phased in over 15 to 18 years. Sponsorship of the survey and the question wording was not made publicly available.

New Survey of Shelter Leaders Shows Strength and Unity of Animal Movement

Carol L. Glasser — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:45:00 -0800

This article summarizes findings from a survey of animal shelter and rescue workers. The survey, designed and administered by HRC, was commissioned by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Respondents were asked about various animal protection issues and their use of HSUS resources.

Research, Education, Innovation. 2012

Carol L. Glasser — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:53:00 -0800

This is a report provided by the U.S. beef industry that summarizes research addressing attitudes toward beef and how to communicate with consumers in the United States. This is an annual survey and the results are compared with previous years.

The Long and Short of It: A Review of Tail Docking in Farm Animals

Carol L. Glasser — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

This literature review presents research about the practice of tail docking in cows, pigs and sheep. The authors find that there is no precedence of tail docking in cows and that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not ban the practice. They note a lack of comprehensive knowledge about utility and effects of tail docking in sheep and pigs and suggest further research in the area needs to be done. Notably, they highlight that though prevention of fly strike is the primary reason given for tail docking in sheep, there is little scientific evidence to support that it is effective.

Reliability of Indicators of Sheep Welfare Assessed by a Group Observation Method

Carol L. Glasser — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

In this study researchers test eight indicators of sheep welfare that do not require people to physically handle sheep. They find that four of the measures--cleanliness of the breech area, lameness, demeanor, and wool loss--were reliable and suggest these findings indicate that the welfare of farmed sheep can be assessed without physical intervention.

Interaction Lacking Between Vets, Organic Producers

Carol L. Glasser — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:45:00 -0800

Both organic farmers and veterinarians were surveyed regarding their interaction and experiences with each other. Overall, there was little interaction between the two groups. Further, there was a disconnect between the groups in that organic farmers rarely sought veterinary help, and veterinarians tended to be unaware of organic production guidelines.

Coming Soon: Year Five of HRC's Animal Tracker

HRC Admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:45:00 -0800

We’re getting ready to launch year five of HRC’s Animal Tracker annual survey of the public opinions and behavior of adults in the U.S. This year’s survey, which will field in March, addresses opinions toward various social movements, who people trust to provide information about animal welfare, opinions about the adequacy of animal protection laws, attitudes toward the importance of animal welfare in various situations, and the frequency with which people discuss animal protection issues. We asked the exact same questions in 2008 and 2009 and will be able to analyze changes over time. When the results are available in April, we’ll also refresh the Animal Tracker graphing tool so that the results will be easy to access and interpret.

Humane State Rankings 2011

Carol L. Glasser — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

This report is the Humane Society of the United States' ranking of each US state based on laws addressing animal protection. The report is user friendly--presented as an interactive map, a listing of each state by ranking, as well as short individual reports for each state that provides detail on which laws exists in that state.

How Readable Are Your Animal Advocacy Materials?

Carol L. Glasser — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0800

The most exciting project this new year, is the release of our latest study examining how easy it is for the average person to read and understand animal advocacy literature. Specifically, HRC partnered with VegFund and FARM to evaluate the readability of the most widely distributed vegan outreach pamphlets.