If you could peer into a giant factory farm where animals are mass produced and then killed to become our food, you might wonder how we, as a decent and humane people have arrived at this place. What you would see is this:
1. Egg laying hens, crammed by the bunch, into a tiny wire cage stacked one upon the other for what seems like miles. They cannot spread their wings, and they are driven mad by the 1-2 years (the length of their miserable lives) of extreme confinement.
2. Mother pigs enclosed in a metal frame barely bigger than their bodies for months on end. The gestating pigs can hardly move, and they endure extreme discomfort and frustration. Did you know, by the way, that pigs are more cognizant than a three year old child and smarter than your pet dog?
3. Veal calves that have been ripped from their mothers at birth and shackled with a chain around their necks in what amounts to a dark box. They are kept in this state of intense captivity so that their muscles remain tender, hence they are often dragged to slaughter unable to walk on undeveloped legs.
Imagine, if you will, that it is you who is locked in a tiny dark space, unable to move, day after maddening day, month after torturous month. You suffer endlessly without a kind gesture or moment of relief. You have done nothing wrong, and you will ultimately die so someone can dine on your flesh.
With California's Proposition 2 aimed at banning battery cages for hens, as well as crates for veal calves and sows, Dan Noyes's ABC 7 report showing undercover footage from a California egg farm could not have come at a better time.
On Monday, October 13, the anchor opened the report with:
"Have you thought about where the eggs for your breakfast come from? We're getting the first look at new undercover video taken at a Southern California egg ranch -- one of the biggest in the state. It is part of the Proposition 2 campaign to improve conditions for farm animals. "
The I Team report, by Dan Noyes, shared footage taken by an undercover investigator for Mercy for Animals (Check out www.mercyforanimals.org ) at Norco Farms in Menifee during August and September.
The investigator told us:
"All of the birds were confined in cages that were so small they couldn't stretch their wings and they couldn't walk or turn around without being in constant contact with other birds or the walls of the cages. Some of the cages were so overcrowded that the birds literally had to lie on top of each other."
And reporter Dan Noyes reminded us:
"That is the simple point of Prop. 2 -- 'to prohibit the cruel confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.'"
As this was a report, not an opinion piece, those on both sides of the issue were given airtime and the egg producers defended their practices. But the video said it all. We saw much of the following, as Noyes narrated:
"The investigator found badly decomposed carcasses in cages with hens still producing eggs for human consumption. Eggs on a conveyor belt bounced off the head of one dead bird. Other live chickens were stuck in the cages, and the investigator says the injured were left to suffer."
We saw an egg covered in blood and were told:
"And a prolapse is where a chicken has laid enough eggs or a particularly large egg so that her uterus turns inside out and then she's bleeding from the wound and eventually all of her insides spill out from her cavity."
You can watch the report on line at:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=6447851
of just read it if you already know the importance of Proposition 2 and don't have the stomach to watch.
Please let Dan Noyes and the I Team know how much we appreciate the airing of this undercover video. Positive feedback for animal stories always encourages more of them. Go to
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=resources&id=5792275
and select ABC I Team from the pull-down menu.
You can also comment on the web page right below the story (URL above) where you have the opportunity to influence other viewers. Please do.
Please forward the story to everybody you know in California -- especially those who might think they are in a safe seat neighborhood, who might not be planning to get out and vote. The animals need every single compassionate person to vote for Prop 2. While sadly cage free doesn't mean cruelty free, the bill will at least end some of this heinous suffering caused by life in tiny cages for millions of animals -- hens, calves, and pigs.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.
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