Extremists Attempt to Mislead Public
Iowa pork producers targeted with false claims to promote political agenda
February 15, 2012 – A new video released this week by the extreme vegan organization Compassion Over Killing is more about politics than animal care. The footage, filmed by an “undercover” activist in December 2011, does not actually reveal any animal mistreatment but attempts to mislead the public by showing common farm practices out of context. It’s important that those who watch the video understand that the organization behind this attack will not be satisfied until all meat, milk, and egg production is eliminated.
Ensuring proper animal well-being is the top priority of farmers and ranchers across all sectors of animal agriculture. Farm practices are implemented with animal care, environmental stewardship, and food safety in mind. The PQA Plus program was launched in 2007 to help pork producers measure, track and continuously improve animal well-being. Farm owners and employees who participate in the program are able to showcase their commitment to social responsibility while ensuring that U.S. pork products continue to be of the highest quality.
Many pork producers choose to raise pregnant sows in gestation stalls to prevent aggressive behavior and injury from other sows. Piglets’ tails are docked to prevent their dominant siblings from biting them, potentially causing extreme pain and infection. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that “most invasive procedures performed on piglets are done to protect the welfare of the pigs rather than to improve production.”
Compassion Over Killing released the new video in direct retaliation to a bill that was introduced in the Iowa state legislature that is intended to protect true whistle blowers and call attention to extremists who frequently allow alleged animal mistreatment to continue until a politicallyopportune time. The bill would enforce timely reporting of animal care concerns to the proper authorities, instead of allowing activist groups to bypass law enforcement to use online footage
of alleged abuse to fundraise.
It is imperative that activists be held accountable for failing to immediately report any suspected mistreatment of farm animals to the appropriate authorities – and for their actions to undermine farmers, ranchers and meat processors while potentially jeopardizing biosecurity measures protecting food safety.
Often these videos are held for months or weeks before being distributed directly to the media and posted on Youtube, without ever notifying the farm owners or managers about concerns. Many of these videos appear to have been severely edited or staged, and yet the activists involved receive no repercussions for having contributed to the alleged animal suffering.
To be clear: the ultimate objective of these groups is not to improve animal well-being but to promote their animal rights and vegan agenda while running farmers and ranchers out of business with legislation and bad press.
If you would like to learn more about today’s pig farms, visit the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s Youtube channel to watch a collection of videos, including farm tours and interviews with the people who help put food on your table. For more information about farmers’ and ranchers’ commitment to animal care and to learn more about the real motives of animal rights extremist organizations, visit www.animalagalliance.org.
About the Alliance:
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation. Find the Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.
Category: Press Releases
Tag: Compassion Over Killing, Pork,