At the end of January, Congress began considering new legislation (H.R. 3798) to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens in the United States.
Although GPP has focused to date on meat chickens, this historic move is very worthy of our attention. This is because it would be piece of federal legislation to protect the welfare of chickens. The United States does have Animal Welfare Act, but farm animals are not included in that. And the only piece of federal legislation to protect farm animals, the Humane Slaughter Act, does not include chickens.
This legislation (H.R. 3798) would essentially double the space per laying hen, ban forced starvation molting of hens, and create a labelling program to provide consumers with consistent information on production systems (e.g. “eggs fro caged hens” and ”eggs from cage-free hens” on cartons). The proposal was introduced on Janaury 23rd by a bi-partisan group of four U.S. representatives, introduced the Egg Products INspection Act Amendments of 2012 at the urging of Humane Society for the United States and the United Egg Producers (UEP). This came in the same month that the ban on the barren batter cages, used to keep laying hens in close confinement and barren conditions, has come into force throughout the 27 coutnries of the European Union.
Although we believe no chicken belongs in a cage, this legislation would improve the lives of hundreds of millions of laying hens, who would otherwise be kept in barren, overcrowded cages. We believe this marks the beginning of the end of cruelty to chickens in the United States.
The battle is likely to be long and hard. While the United Egg Producers is onside, there is much resistance from other livestock industries. Afterall this would be the first piece of federal legislation passed for farm animals since the Humane Slaughter Act was passed and perhaps a watershed moment for the welfare of farm animals in the United States. We need everyone who cares about farm animal, and especially chickens, to speak up. We are urging all citizens to contact their U.S. representative and Congress person and urge him or her to cosponsor H.R. 3798.
How to take action:
Find your US representative contact details here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
1. Find your Senators’ contact details here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Phone your U.S. Representative, and also your two U.S Senators
2. Ask to speak to a staffer who is dealing with agriculture and the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, (H.R. 3798).
2. State that you are resident of ______________ (city/state) and that you are urging your representative to co-sponsor the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, (H.R. 3798). State that farm animal welfare is a matter of importance to you and your community and that you support this step towards improving the lives of hens.
5. If you prefer to write an email or a letter, or to write in addition to calling, here is what you can say:
Dear Legislator,
As a constituent and resident of ___________(city/state) concerned about preventing cruelty to animals, I’m writing to urge you to support and co-sponsor H.R. 3798, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012. Please do everything you can to help pass this critical legislation, which will significantly improve the lives of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens in our nation. It is strongly endorsed by animal protection organizations like Compassion in World Farming and The Humane Society of the United States, and by the industry’s trade association (the United Egg Producers) that represents 88% of the U.S. egg industry.
Thank you,
Anyone concerned about the abuse of animals on factory farms should OPPOSE this bill. Not only would it establish egg factory cages as a national standard, it would eliminate the rights of states and voters to do anything about it (while nullifying existing state laws that already ban or restrict battery cages). That is why it is being pushed by the egg industry itself! The Stop the Rotten Egg Bill (http://www.StopTheRottenEggBill.org) campaign is getting it right. Check it out. This bill would keep hens forever locked IN cages, despite the overwhelming desires of the American public.
Here is a link to the actual bill http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c112:1:./temp/~c112TCn50w:e827: and here is a summary of what the bill proposes:
- Replace every conventional battery cage in America with new,enriched colony housing systems that provide all egg-laying hens nearly double the amount of current space, or producers can go entirely cage-free;
• Require that all egg-laying hens be provided with environmental
enrichments, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas,
that will allow hens to express more natural behaviors;
• Mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers
of the method used to produce the eggs—“eggs from caged hens,”
“eggs from hens in enriched cages,” “eggs from cage-free hens,”
and “eggs from free-range hens”;
• Prohibit feed- or water-withdrawal forced molting to extend the
laying cycle;
• Require standards for euthanasia of egg-laying hens;
• Prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses; and
• Prohibit the transport and sale of eggs and egg products nationwide
that don’t meet these requirements.
Compassion is fully in support of improvements, however large or small they are, to the welfare of farm animals. This would be a step in the right direction and a. only the second piece of federal legislation for farm animals and b. the first piece of federal legislation for chickens. So it is symbolic as well. Importantly it would also be the first piece of legislation on humane labeling. You would have to label “from caged hens”, ‘from enriched cages’ , “from non-caged hens’ and importantly ‘eggs from free range hens’. It would also set a precident on labelling. All of these will be required to be defined. If achieved, this aspect of the law would come into effect just one year after the bill is passed. So the impact on the market will be sooner then the 18 year phase out.
This is basically what we achieved in the EU. It would be matching the minimum law that now exists as of January 2012, but also improve it in some ways (maximum ammonia levels are set for example).
The United Egg Producers and Humane Society for the United States basically struck this deal and are jointly lobbying congress on it. The beef and pork industry are completely against it because they think that it will the beginning of the government setting standards on animal agriculture. And that is indeed what we hope.
Some people oppose it because they think it does not go far enough. But it’s a compromise between UEP and HSUS. It will help to get rid of the worst practices in this country. It won’t end factory farming. The labeling will importantly help consumers become more aware of what they are buying and be able to chose better what they want. Studies in the EU and Australia showed that as soon as labeling was introduced, the sales of factory farmed/caged eggs plummeted. The labeling aspect will go into effect only one year after the bill is passed, and is perhaps the most important part of the whole bill.