Gestation Crates : pigs

Grand sage Nombre de messages : 1483 Date d'inscription : 24/09/2011

July 18, 2012

video

http://www.mfablog.org/2012/07/victory-costco-and-kmart-commit-to-ditching-gestation-crates-following-mfa-investigation.html

Victory! Costco and Kmart Commit to Ditching Gestation Crates Following MFA Investigation
By Nathan Runkle
Today, after eleventh hour behind-the-scenes discussions with Mercy For Animals, both Costco Wholesale, the second largest retailer in the US, and Sears Holdings Corporation's subsidiary Kmart, the third-largest discount store in the world, announced that they would eliminate gestation crates from their pork supply chains.

In a letter addressed to Costco Wholesale's pork suppliers, Doug Schutt, Executive Vice President of Merchandising said:

Here at Costco we are encouraging you to make this transition: we want all of the hogs throughout our pork supply chain to be housed in groups with access to safety zones and expect that this transition should be accomplished no later than 2022.

Sears Holdings issued a public statement promising that the company "will work to eliminate gestation crates from our supply chain as it pertains to the production of pork products." Robin Michel, Sears Holdings' senior vice president and president for grocery, drug, and pharmacy said:

We believe that a gestation crate-free environment is more humane and we support and appreciate the efforts of pork suppliers to reduce and eliminate the use of gestation crates.

"Mercy For Animals applauds both Costco's and Kmart's commitment to eliminate one of the worst forms of institutionalized animal abuse in existence," said Nathan Runkle, Mercy For Animals' executive director. "We praise these companies for acknowledging that this cruel system is unsustainable and must be phased out. By speaking out against these inherently cruel crates, these top retailers are taking a positive step forward in improving animal welfare."

Recently MFA conducted an undercover investigation into Christensen Farms, a pork supplier to both Costco and Kmart. The hidden-camera video documents thousands of mother pigs forced to live inside narrow metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies, piglets slammed headfirst into the ground, workers cutting off piglets' tails and testicles without painkillers, and animals suffering from bloody open wounds. Pigs confined in gestation crates are unable to even turn around, take a step forward or backward, or lie down comfortably for nearly their entire lives. Both Costco and Kmart took swift and decisive action--immediately denouncing the use of gestation crates in their supply chains--after MFA privately presented them with the undercover video.

Costco and Kmart have joined the ranks of several other corporations, including Kroger and Safeway, two of the largest grocers in the nation, and McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, the top fast-food restaurants in the United States, in their commitments to completely phase out gestation crates from their supply chains.

"Costco and Kmart's commitments to transition their pork supply chains should send a strong signal to the pork industry that confining pigs in crates so small they cannot even turn around or lie down comfortably is blatant animal abuse that will not be tolerated by socially responsible retailers," says Runkle.

MFA is now calling on Walmart, another customer of Christensen Farms, to quickly follow Costco and Kmart's lead in taking a stance against inherently cruel gestation crates. Today, Mercy For Animals is launching a national campaign aimed at pressuring Walmart executives to adopt a new policy requiring the company's pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.

Learn more, and take action, at WalmartCruelty.com. Tags:animal abuse,animal cruelty,animal rights,animal welfare,burger king,christensen farms,costco,gestation crates,kmart,kroger,mcdonald's,mercy for animals,piglets,pigs,pork,safeway,sears,vegan,vegetarian,walmart,wendy's
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Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

March 10, 2013

http://www.mfablog.org/2013/03/walmartad2html.html

MFA Keeps the Pressure on Walmart Executives with Second Full-Page Ad in Hometown Paper

Today, Walmart shoppers and executives woke up to the second full-page ad taken out by Mercy For Animals in the Benton County Daily Record in Bentonville, AR--headquarters of the world's largest retailer. MFA's provocative ad gets right to the point, asking readers, "Do you support cruelty to animals?" and then declaring, "Walmart does."

The ad focuses on the inherently cruel practice of confining pregnant pigs in narrow gestation crates--metal enclosures barely larger than the animals' own bodies and so restrictive the animals can't turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, play, or engage in other natural behaviors. Sadly, the inhumane practice is common on factory farms supplying pork to Walmart stores.

As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has the power and the responsibility to phase out this outdated and abusive practice. Yet, Walmart is one of the few major retailers that have yet to implement a policy requiring its pork suppliers to phase out the cruel practice. More than 50 major food providers, including Walmart's greatest competitors Costco, Target, Kroger, and Safeway, have committed to phasing out gestation crates.

Sadly, Walmart's refusal to improve animal welfare should come as no surprise. Recently, a new report by Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare deemed Walmart one of the worst offenders when it comes to how the animals in its meat supply chain are treated. See for yourself what life is like for pigs raised and killed for the pork sold in Walmart stores:

Please join MFA's Walmart campaign today and ask the company's executives Mike Duke, Bill Simon, and Doug McMillon to stop supporting cruelty to animals. Get involved at WalmartCruelty.com.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

April 2, 2013

http://www.walmartcruelty.com/

sign the petition

Canada's Second-Largest Pork Producer Gives Gestation Crates the Boot

By Ari Solomon
The Epoch Times reports that Olymel, Canada's second-largest pork producer, has agreed to phase out gestation crates for pregnant sows. The company said the decision was inevitable, citing gestation crate bans in the European Union and in several US states, as well as growing demand from customers who want companies to do away with this inhumane practice. The decision also comes only months after a harrowing undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals Canada at Puratone Farms in Manitoba, which received national media attention.

In the United States, almost all major companies, from Safeway and Kroger to McDonald's, have agreed to phase out the use of gestation crates, which confine pigs in spaces so small they can't even turn around or lie down comfortably. However, Walmart, the largest US pork retailer, has refused to budge on the issue. Mercy For Animals has been putting steady pressure on the company to take swift action. From our full-page ads in its hometown newspaper to our Walmart Cruelty Tour, MFA won't rest until Walmart gets on board and does the right thing.

If you'd like to urge Walmart to ditch these cruel crates, sign our petition and share this video narrated by The Price Is Right's Bob Barker.

To learn more about totally leaving meat off your plate, visit ChooseVeg.com.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

April 29, 2013

Breaking News: Canada's Top Grocery Chains Ditch Gestation Crates
By Nathan Runkle
Today, the Retail Council of Canada announced that all eight of the country's leading grocery chains, including Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, and Walmart Canada, are requiring their pork suppliers to phase out inherently cruel gestation crates. These restrictive crates, which prevent pregnant pigs from turning around or lying down comfortably for nearly their entire lives, have been widely condemned as one of the cruelest factory farming practices in the world.

The announcement comes after Mercy For Animals Canada released hidden-camera video from an undercover investigation at Puratone, a major Canadian pork supplier, and pressured Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, and Walmart Canada to do away with gestation crates in their pork supply chains. Showing thousands of pregnant pigs confined for life inside filthy, metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies, the shocking expose received national media attention and prompted tens of thousands of Canadians to demand Canadian grocery retailers cut ties with particularly cruel pork producers.

MFA is now calling on Walmart here in the United States to quickly follow the lead of Walmart Canada and more than 50 other major food retailers in North America, by committing to end the use of cruel gestation crates in its pork supply chain. Multiple undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals at Walmart pork suppliers in the United States have revealed thousands of pigs crammed inside these metal torture boxes. As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has the power and the responsibility to end the sale of crated pork.

Watch video footage from MFA's latest Walmart pork investigation here:

Visit WalmartCruelty.com to take action and find out more.

While grocery retailers can help put an end to some of the most egregiously cruel factory farming practices, consumers can also help prevent needless cruelty to animals every time they sit down to eat by adopting a healthy and humane, vegan diet.
Tags: animals, canada, factory farming, gestation crate, grocery, loblaw, mercy for animals, metro, pig, pork, sobeys, vegan, walmart
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Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

eptember 26, 2013
Martha Stewart Calls on N.J. Legislators to Help Protect Pigs from Cruelty

Martha Stewart urges lawmakers to reaffirm their support for a statewide ban on the confinement of breeding pigs. Scott Duncan
New Jersey native Martha Stewart has written to members of the New Jersey legislature on behalf of breeding pigs. In an open letter, she urges lawmakers to reaffirm their support for a statewide ban on the extreme confinement of breeding pigs in gestation crates—cages roughly the size of pigs’ bodies that are so small, the animals can’t even turn around.

Stewart states, “These animals have committed no crime, yet they’re treated worse than even the most violent criminals would be treated. No prisoner in our state – or country, for that matter – is kept in a cage so small he can’t turn around for months on end. This is torture, and we shouldn’t permit it to be inflicted on anyone, especially animals who have done nothing to deserve such callous punishment.

Stewart adds her voice to the majority of New Jersey voters, 91 percent of whom support this legislation according to a survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

In May, the state legislature overwhelmingly voted to prohibit these inhumane devices, with the Assembly passing the bill by a vote of 60 to five and the Senate by a vote of 35 to one.

N.J. residents: Urge your legislators to support S.1921

Non-N.J. residents: Sign our petition to help pigs everywhere
That legislation, S.1921, would require that pigs used for breeding be able to at least stand up, lie down, turn around and extend their limbs. Gov. Christie, under pressure from out-of-state pork interests, vetoed the bill.

A coalition of animal-welfare organizations then launched a campaign asking legislators to override the veto. The campaign includes a television commercial from The Humane Society of the United States showing pigs in gestation crates.

McDonald’s, Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Oscar Mayer and more than 60 other leading food companies have announced plans to eliminate gestation crates from their supply chains, while many traditional farmers have avoided using gestation crates for generations. The controversial confinement system has come under fire from veterinarians, farmers, animal welfare advocates, animal scientists, consumers and others.

Facts:
Nine states and the entire European Union have passed legislation to outlaw gestation crates.
World-renowned animal scientist and meat industry advisor Temple Grandin, Ph.D., states, “Gestation crates for pigs are a real problem... Basically, you’re asking a sow to live in an airline seat ... I think it’s something that needs to be phased out.”
More than 100 New Jersey-based veterinarians signed on to a letter expressing support for A.3250/S.1921.
The Star-Ledger editorialized in support of A.3250/S.1921, calling it “basic decency.” The Courier Post also editorialized in support of the ban.
The Times of Trenton printed an op-ed in support of A.3250/S.1921.

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