TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The yearslong call by animal rights
groups to improve conditions on American hog farms advanced considerably
this week when two of the country’s biggest meat companies urged
producers to change how pregnant sows are housed, and one announced it
wanted to stop the practice of killing sick or injured animals by
"manual blunt force."
Tyson Foods sent new animal welfare
guidelines to its 3,000 independent hog suppliers on Wednesday — roughly
six weeks after gruesome video from an Oklahoma farm showed some
animals being struck with bowling balls and others being slammed onto a
concrete floor. And Smithfield Foods announced Tuesday it would ask
growers to move pregnant sows from gestation crates to group housing by
2022.
The change in corporate policy comes after decades of
lobbying and protests from animal rights groups and a trend that saw
more food retailers and restaurant chains moving away from suppliers who
implemented the controversial hog-raising practices on farms.
The
planned overhaul was lauded by several animal rights groups, some who
had campaigned against gestation crates, which they deemed
institutionalized animal abuse and considered it an outdated and
unnecessary practice. "Gestation crates" are cramped, often-foul stalls
that barely allow a sow to take a step forward or backward and have been
used for decades.
Tyson said it is urging pork producers to
improve housing conditions for gestating sows enough to allow sows of
all sizes to stand, turn around, lie down and stretch their legs.
Tyson
spokesman Gary Mickelson said the Arkansas-based company hasn’t taken a
position against any particular type of housing, but wants producers to
"improve housing systems for pregnant sows by focusing on both the
quality and quantity of space provided, whether it involves gestation
stalls, pens or some other type of housing."
"We’re encouraging
farmers to consider making these space improvements when they or the
piglet suppliers redesign or build new gestation barns," Mickelson told
The Associated Press in an email.
Smithfield, the world’s largest
pork producer, had previously said it was phasing out gestation crates
at its U.S. facilities by 2017. The Virginia-based company has
transitioned 54 percent of its pregnant sows to group housing so far and
said in a statement this week that "animal care is one of our core
sustainability commitments, and we are proud of our employee and company
efforts to meet this goal."
Tyson also said it would require by
the end of the year farmers who manage company-owned sows to end the
longstanding industry practice of blunt-force euthanasia in favor of
alternative methods in line with American Veterinary Medical Association
guidelines.
The Henryetta, Okla., operation in the video, West
Coast Farms, had raised hogs for Tyson until the company’s contract was
dropped by the meat producer after the footage surfaced. A number listed
for the local farm has since been disconnected.
The animal rights
group Mercy For Animals released the video in November. Founder and
executive director Nathan Runkle said he was pleased with Tyson’s
decision to improve housing conditions for its hogs.
"We hope this
announcement is more than PR hogwash and that Tyson acts quickly and
diligently to implement these changes in order to spare millions of
animals needless misery and suffering."
Other animal rights
groups, such as The Humane Society of the United States, lauded the
changes by both companies as "a dramatic step forward."
"There has
been an exodus from a sector of the industry that has relied on these
crates as a conventional production practice — an inhumane and
unsustainable production practice," said Wayne Pacelle, president and
CEO of the Humane Society.
He said the actions by Smithfield and Tyson
"makes it crystal clear that there is no future for gestation crates in
the U.S."
It’s difficult to determine whether these improvements
will eventually drive up the cost of pork. The price of the meat is
affected by myriad factors, such as feed, fuel costs, transportation
expenses and wages, Mickelson said.
"We can tell you consumer
prices are set by retailers and restaurants that sell directly to the
consumer —not by Tyson Foods," he said.
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