Agriculture education group urges balance

In a statement, the Alliance quoted from speeches by animal welfare activists at the recent Animals and Society Institutes’ Strength of Many conference held early this month.

While speaking at the conference, Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns, an animal rights group focused on domestic fowl, reportedly bemoaned the fate of male chickens in the US, saying that these birds are “family men” and that modern agriculture systems leave them “no family life”. The Alliance says Davis is notorious for her claim that the September 11 terrorist attacks reduced the amount of suffering in the world because many of those killed in the attack likely ate chicken.

Miyun Park, Vice President of Farm Animal Welfare for the vegan-led Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reportedly said the organisation’s objective was: “to get rid of the [egg laying and broiler chicken] industry”.

Executive Director of Compassion Over Killing (COK), Erica Meier unveiled COK’s  petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label eggs from conventional production as ‘eggs from caged hens’.

Kay Johnson of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, said, “we are extremely distressed that animal rights advocates would try to mislead the public over the use of modern facilities that insulate animals from inclement weather, protect them from predators, enhance nutrition, reduce disease and improve veterinary care.”

Johnson warned that such animal welfare propaganda could be damaging to the cause of animal rights activists, alienating supporters that feel manipulated.

“Groups who pretend to be working for animal welfare will inevitably see people abandon their cause as people understand that they have been manipulated. Their manipulation hurts the cause of groups that work hard on behalf of animals,” she said.