From Farm Sanctuary
In an attempt to thwart our efforts to protect farm animals from extreme confinement in the Commonwealth, agriculture interests are promoting a misleading bill that would likely bolster the inhumane status quo. By establishing a livestock care standards board, S335 would allow unelected officials to advise the Department of Agriculture about animal agriculture practices and, by creating the illusion of regulation, deter legislators from enacting true animal welfare reforms.
The purpose of S355 — supported by industry groups like the Farm Bureau — is to stop the Massachusetts Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act and prevent the banning of battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates in Massachusetts. Creating agribusiness-dominated “livestock care boards” such as the one proposed in S355 is a common tactic employed by the industry to fight even modest farm animal welfare reforms.
On July 21, 2011, S355 will be heard by the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture at 10 a.m. in the State House in Boston, and we need all the help we can get to fight this potentially damaging bill. Please join us in protecting Massachusetts’s farm animals by taking action today.
