More in Animal Welfare

Mycoplasma pneumonia was identified as a cause of pneumonia in pigs in 1965. Mycoplasma is most often mixed with other bacteria — like Pasteurella multocida, Streptococcus suis or Haemophilus parasuis. When this occurs, the pneumonia is referred to as enzootic pneumonia....More

Register before August 13, 2012 to get the best prices for the 2012 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, to be held Sept. 15-18 at the St. Paul River Center in St. Paul, MN....More

Recent news that some major U.S. restaurant chains, including McDonald’s, will phase out buying of pork supplied by producers who use gestation stalls for pregnant sows has sparked conversation and concern among pork producers as well as consumers. Lost in some of the conversation regarding swine gestation stalls is why pork producers implemented them to begin with, according to Kansas State University (KSU) veterinarian Steve Dritz, and KSU Research and Extension livestock specialist Joel DeRouchey....More

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in a scalding news release today, strongly condemned Senate leaders for rejecting consideration of an animal welfare amendment to the farm bill last night. Senate leaders spurned consideration of amendment #2252, the “Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012.” The HSUS seeks to codify an agreement with the United Egg Producers (UEP) to nearly double the size of space allotted to egg-laying hens....More

That is the rhetorical — and practical — question hanging over meetings and conferences associated with agriculture these days. In the livestock sector, the long-term health and sustainability of our production systems will require sensible laws and guidelines to meet that goal. The key word being — sensible. Hardly a week goes by that the livestock and poultry industries aren’t beaten up over some generally proven management or processing practice. Commonly, the red flag-wavers are affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) or other anti-meat advocates. Two of their favorite targets include the use of low-level antibiotics in livestock diets and housing gestating sows in stalls....More

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has expressed disappointment with McDonald’s decision to move forward with requiring its pork suppliers to phase out the use of individual sow housing. The fast-food firm announced recently that it wants 100% of its suppliers to provide pork that’s gestation stall-free in 10 years....More

The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers jointly announced on Thursday the introduction of S.3239, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, sponsored by a group of senators led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). In short, the legislation will require egg producers to essentially double the space allotted per hen and make other housing changes in a tiered-in process over the next 15 to 18 years....More

  In light of this week’s undercover video of a Wyoming pig farm by the Humane Society of the United States, the Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC) is advising U.S. pork producers to be thinking about the activities that take place on their farms. “Are you doing all that you can do to assure you and your employees are abiding by the We Care ethical principles?” asks the OPPC Web site....More

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has issued the following statement on the latest hidden pig video:  “Undercover video from a Wyoming hog farm released today by an animal rights group shows practices that are abhorrent to U.S. pork producers. The National Pork Producers Council condemns such actions, which are not in accord with the U.S. pork industry’s best practices that are exemplified in its Pork Quality Assurance Plus program....More

The Federation of Animal Science Societies Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Care and the American Veterinary Medical Association will be presenting a gestation sow housing webinar on May 11 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. (central standard time). This will be the first in a series of webinars on current and emerging trends in animal welfare....More

The Animals for Life Foundation provided a grant for more than 150 first responders to be trained on the proper handling of large animals in time of crisis. Animal Agriculture 202 was conducted by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio State University Extension. It included a series of eight presentations on the proper ways to plan for and respond to farm animal accidents and how to effectively interact with those animals....More