1.6 Animal Welfare

Quality animal care is at the heart of farm animal production in an age when science and technology have moved farming from horsepower to computer power. Farmers and ranchers devote their lives to providing a safe, ample supply of food and fiber for the nation and many beyond our borders. Farming is a business and farm animals are not pets. Because the margin between costs of production and marketing products is so small, today’s producers recognize that poor or inhumane management is never profitable. Our nation’s farmers and ranchers must use the highest quality, most nutritious feeds, provide safe, clean stress free environments couple with a love genuine concern for their animals. However, there is a clear distinction between animal welfare and animal rights:

• Animal Welfare is the proper care and management of animals. Farmers and ranchers believe animals raised under humane conditions and practices will be productive and profitable.

• Animal Rights philosophy goes beyond the promise of protecting the physical well-being of animals and seeks to establish that animals have inherent legal and ethical rights that are equal to those of humans. Adhering to this philosophy would mean the complete elimination of all uses of animals for food, clothing, leisure or research. This would lead to the total abolition of animal agriculture.

A healthy diet is based upon moderation and animal food products are an excellent source of essential dietary nutrients. Fat is necessary for hormone production and healthy skin and enables the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K as well as providing calories for energy. Advances in modern medicine, as well as agriculture production, have been made possible as a result of research involving the use of animals. We support the humane and judicious use of animals in research carried out under good laboratory practices.

There is a growing need for adding animal welfare, which will include information on the value of farm animals, to the curriculum for elementary, middle and junior high schools. Youth programs should provide appropriate developmental and learning opportunities through working with farm, companion or when appropriate, research animals. 

Public concern about animal welfare continues to increase. The industry should address such concerns including the increasing need for both consumer and industry education about the welfare of animals and their value to the nation, new techniques to assure and improve the welfare of animals, national voluntary standards for animal husbandry practices, mechanisms to assure fair and proper enforcement of animal welfare regulations, government funding for this increased regulatory burden, and stronger laws and regulations to end threats, harassment, destruction and disruptive actions by animal rights activists. Animal welfare regulations and guidelines should be developed and promoted by the appropriate industry segment. These regulations should include guidelines about animals used in biomedical research; standards of practice for all livestock species, both for production and marketing including transportation; the handling of downer animals; and animal care including a protocol for farmers and ranchers to use to evaluate the welfare of animals on their farms and ranches. NASDA also encourages the dairy industry to adopt voluntary guidelines for the care of dairy cattle, and to urge that any requirements regarding the treatment of animals be based on science.

We support the humane and compassionate care of all animals and encourage the development of educational programs and activities that communicate factual information on food and fiber production to the public. Research should be conducted that evaluates and develops production systems that insure an environment that provides for the health and well-being of animals, while simultaneously providing an economic and wholesome food and fiber supply for the nation’s consumers.

Further, we support establishment of guidelines for use by livestock exhibitions, including petting zoos, to encourage minimized or controlled animal contact by the public, and to promote handwashing/sanitizing by the public. It is recognized that effective handwash practices protect both the public and animals from potential illness.

 We believe that the goal of all persons involved in production animal agriculture should be to produce a quality food or fiber product for consumers. In order to accomplish this goal, producers and all other components of the marketing chain must operate in a profitable manner. Maintaining the health, welfare and value of animals as they are raised, marketed, transported and processed is of central importance.

Horses for Slaughter--As animals—particularly horses—age, their ability to survive without extensive care decreases. Current policies allow humane, veterinarian-supervised euthanasia of horses slaughtered for human consumption. These policies assist in the humane treatment of animals as they age, since they continue to maintain a market value. If limitations on uses of horse meat are enacted, many horses will die from abandonment and disposal problems will also result. NASDA supports policies which allow horse slaughter for human consumption to continue to be available to producers.