The Arizonans for Humane Farms Initiative would:
- Reduce animal suffering by outlawing both veal crates and pig gestation crates in Arizona;
- Require that pigs and veal calves have enough room to turn around, lie down and extend their limbs;
- Still allow “farrowing crates”, into which hogs are moved immediately after giving birth in order to not inadvertently crush their offspring;
- Protect the economic interests of small family farmers in Arizona by keeping out massive corporate operations who use extreme confinement to produce more animals for slaughter;
- Keep Arizona residents safe - animals kept in close confinement are more likely to be infected with harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E. Coli;
- Protect our ground water - factory farms are more prone to ground water contamination;
- Allow meat-producing businesses until 2013 to gradually phase in more humane methods of operation;
- Such extreme confinement has already been outlawed in the European Union, and gestation crates have been outlawed in the state of Florida
- Endorsers include the Arizona Humane Society, Animal Defense League of Arizona, Northern Arizona Second Chance Center for Animals, Humane Society of Southern Arizona, the Arizona Animal Welfare League, Farm Sanctuary (3,800 members in AZ), and The Humane Society of the United States (188,000 members in AZ).
From Cheryl Naumann, Chairman of Arizonans for Humane Farms:
"The concept of allowing farm animals more free space while being raised for slaughter is not new – only in the last few decades have farm animals been forced into extreme methods of confinement.... Nothing in this Initiative precludes animals from being raised for slaughter."
Ms. Naumann further states that "the price of meat to the consumer wouldn’t increase appreciably because more humane practices are implemented –this initiative applies only to Arizona, and since meat is shipped in from many other states, the impact on consumers would be negligible."
The initiative is harmful to Arizona because it:
- is based on emotion, not facts -- modern animal agriculture and livestock operations are based on science and research, not the whims of radical animal activists who want us all to adopt their vegan and vegetarian lifestyle
- will contribute to a rise in foreign sources of meat products for American consumers
- ignores the fact that the U.S. food supply is the safest in the world
- seeks to subject farmers, who continue to raise their animals as they have for generations, to new criminal penalties
- puts animal rights ahead of human rights
- ignores the fact that Arizona farmers and ranchers treat their animals humanely – if farmers and ranchers treated their animals inhumanely, they’d be out of business
- will hurt farms of all sizes, including small ones, just like it did after it passed in Florida in 2002
- seeks to use Arizona voters as pawns in a national campaign to disrupt animal agriculture and livestock industries
- is primarily funded by two out-of-state animal activist groups who have a history of breaking campaign finance laws
Where It Stands
If the sponsors of this initiative gather enough signatures to get this item on the ballot, Arizonans will be asked to vote on the issue in November's election.
As news becomes available, I'll update this article.
Let us know how you would vote if this item was on the ballot at Arizona's General Election.
Poll: Should the Arizonans for Humane Farms Initiative pass?1) Yes, I am in favor of the Arizonans for Humane Farms Initiative.
Arguments For provided by Arizonans for Humane Farms.
Arguments Against provided by Campaign for Arizona Farmers & Ranchers.
