Chicken Dance Anyone?

This election cycle was a resounding success and moment in history, not only for this country, but for our animal friends.  The biggest animal welfare win to date has gone down in the history books with the dominating win of Proposition 2 in California. I’ve written about Prop 2 before and am thrilled beyond words to be on this side of a big win for the animals.

The passage of Proposition 2 now means that animals raised for food in California will have room to stretch out, stand up, spread their limbs, turn around and lay down. This means no more stacks of battery cages for chickens who spend their entire lives crammed into a tiny cage with many other birds, unable to act out any natural behaviors or do much else than suffer. This means sows will be freed from being totally unable to turn around and veal calves will have a little more comfort and some relief from spending day after day standing, chained inside a painfully small crate.

The human error in factory farming is enormous. We as a society have ended up in this situation of inflicting mass cruelty to animals for our gain because the focus has been on cheap mass production of a "product". It's one thing if we are talking about widgets of some sort, but this product involves a living, feeling animal.

Proposition 2 marks the dawn of a new era where our society has stood up and said we can do better. We most certainly can and will. Compassion for animals must span all animals, even those raised for food. They feel pain and suffer. A little more comfort and consideration for their plight is not too much to ask, and California agreed.

Indiana is the third highest ranked state for egg production with Monroe County being one of only four counties that does not have any CFO’s (Confined Feeding Operations) or CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). 

Indiana communities are increasingly considering the expansion of large animal farms as key sources for food manufacturers and strategies for economic development. We hope that the passage of Proposition 2 will have ripple effects across the United States including right here in Indiana. A more humane Indiana is most certainly in order.

I did a little dancing for the animals..you should feel free to do the same.