In Human Hands exploring the natural balance for the welfare of animals in captivity
by Lisa Toth
captivity: any situation where an animal is under human care and control.
anthropomorphize: when we as humans, put human attributes on animals as well as expectations that we would like to see for them because they are things we want for ourselves.
Humans strive for the feeling of freedom and many believe animals want the same. The problem with this thinking is that humans and animals do not have the same brain. Animals are not looking for the same things that we do. We often anthropomorphize animals because there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of these animals and what they truly want and need in life.
1 2 3
medical research 8 medical breakthroughs 18 deceiving results
facilities 29 conservation and education 38 an artificial life
livestock 55 for our consumption 66 a lack of respect
1 Would you rather be given a medical treatment designed for you or one tested on a gorilla?
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medical breakthroughs Medical testing on animals is a very controversial issue
that has been throughout history. Louis Pasteur was a chemist and microbiologist who discovered breakthroughs in both the causes and preventions of disease. He created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. Without his discoveries, milk and wine would be inconsumable. He worked on the prevention of chicken cholera and applied immunization to anthrax that affected cattle. Because of this, today we are able to purchase and eat both meat and dairy with minimal concern for bacteria and disease. Many medical breakthroughs would not exist if animal testing did not exist. Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases affecting humans today. A recent discovery of a gentler treatment versus traditional chemotherapy and radiation, is called rational drug design. This is a treatment that targets the abnormal cells directly. Without animal testing and research this better understanding of tumor biology which lead to this treatment of the future would not exist.
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For every 1 animal used in research
14 are killed on our roads. *Americans for Medical Progress
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The number of animals used for medical research and testing has dropped by approximately 450,000 over the past 3 decades.
Medical research is a process that takes many years. It is much more manageable and able to be controlled when it is applied on animals. When research is tested on humans is can take decades to see or find out the results. Time is of the essence, and with many studies there is an urgency that is unrealistic if testing with humans. Medical research is more efficient when applied on animals, whether the results are positive or negative, as a human life is not at stake. We need to make sure that the millions of animals who are used for testing new products are treated with the minimum of suffering. Although some animal testing may be unavoidable at the present time, treating our fellow creatures as mercifully as possible will demonstrate our humanity.
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Many medical treatments and procedures have been developed from experiments on animals. Since animals share many features with humans, scientists use animals to test the safety and effectiveness of newly developed drugs before pilot testing on small groups of patients. Medical teams practice new operating techniques such as transplants on animals. Without animal testing, many procedures or new drugs would be extremely unsafe.
The Number of Animals Used Annually for Research in the United States *Speaking of Research, These animals are covered by the Animal Welfare Act.
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
1,200,000
2010
1,150,000
1,300,000 1,450,000 1,550,000
1,650,000 1,600,000 2,150,000
= 10,000 animals
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Substances ranging from eye shadow and soap to furniture polish and oven cleaner are tested on rabbits and guinea pigs. In Human Hands
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deceiving results
Hundreds of drugs tested on animals and approved by the fda as safe have been taken off the market or relabeled because they have caused serious illnesses and death in humans. There is not enough knowledge and understanding of animal use in medical research for people to make an informed decision of their opinion on the issue. Government statistics show that the use of non-rodent animals has been declining over the past two decades. Since 1985 the use of animals has declined by almost half in the us. This includes a decline in the number of dogs and other non-rodent animals. Some of this decline is caused by a movement towards the use of genetically modified mice.
In 2010 us government statistics put the number of laboratory animals used in research at 1,136,567. These statistics do not include rats, mice, birds and fish, as these animals are not covered by the Animal Welfare Act. Precise figures for these animals do not exist, but it is estimated that approximately 25 million of these animals are used every year. This would account for over 95% of all animals used for such in the us. Dogs, cats and non-human primates together account for less than 1% of the animals used in research every year. In Human Hands
The Number of Animals Used Annually for Research in the United States *Speaking of Research, These animals are both covered and not covered by the Animal Welfare Act.
99%
Rats, mice, birds and fish (all animals not covered by the Animal Welfare Act).
1%
Dogs, cats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, other farm animals, non-human primates, hamsters, guinea pigs,dogs, cats, all other covered species.
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“With the technology we have today, I think there should be other alternatives to testing on animals.� —Traci Lofton, animal rights activist
Many people are concerned that animals are suffering unnecessarily and cruelly. Not every new drug necessarily needs to be tested on animals, especially with the huge database of knowledge and modern computer models that exist today. Often animal tests are found to be ineffective, causing many drugs to be withdrawn from the market despite the extensive testing done prior. Animal testing should not be used for nonessential products such as cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, and cleaning products. Many animal rights campaigners would like to see certain tests replaced and more humane methods used. With few exceptions, human subjects are not experimented on without their consent. Just as experiments are not done on humans are incapable of consenting to the experimentation, non-human animals should be regarded in the same way. NonAnimals cannot give informed consent, and the vast majority of experiments using animals are so invasive and injurious, we would never even consider allowing humans to consent to being subjects in such experiments. Just as unethical experimentation on a group of humans cannot be justified by a benefit to In Human Hands
humanity at large, the same holds true for animal experimentation. Like humans, animals are sentient beings with interests in their own lives and freedom. To treat them differently and say that experimentation on non-human animals is justified but human experimentation is not would be speciesist. The cause and cure for scurvy was discovered without using animals, with studies done on human subjects who already had scurvy. The first vaccine was invented in the 18th century without animal experimentation, when people were inoculated with cowpox in order to build up their resistance to smallpox. Penicillin was also discovered without animal research. More recently, the Heimlich maneuver was developed without vivisection and has saved countless lives. Also, studying human populations has led to many important medical discoveries, including the connection between heart disease and cholesterol, and the connection between smoking and cancer. Many animals are used in scientific and medical research. They often undergo cruel methods of testing and suffer greatly as a result. Animal experimentation is both cruel and unnecessary
and humans have no right to put innocent animals through such torture. Scientists often don’t benefit from testing on animals because they are so different from us and react differently to drugs. Results obtained from experimenting on animals are very often unreliable. There are numerous cases that highlight the absurdity of assuming that humans and animals have a biology sufficiently similar for experimentation to yield useful results. For example: morphine calms humans but excites cats, cortisone causes birth defects in mice but not in humans, penicillin kills guinea pigs and hamsters and aspirin poisons cats. If the results of tests on animals had been relied upon we would not have penicillin or digitalis (a drug used by heart patients but which was withheld for a long time because it was found to raise the blood pressure of dogs). We would also be without chloroform (once a common anaesthetic but not used initially because it was toxic to dogs) and aspirin (which causes foetal deformities in rats and is toxic to certain animals). Certain steroids, adrenaline, insulin and some antibiotics are also toxic to many animals but medically beneficial to humans. Many groups and organizations are
debating whether or not animal testing should be banned. Some people believe that there are reasons why animal testing should be done. Others believe that animal testing is morally wrong. Some experts also feel that there are other options available. The research proves that because there are other options available, animal testing should be banned. There has been much controversy about using animals in experiments for decades. People converse over different alternatives for animal testing and the inhumane way scientists treat these animals in experiments. This topic causes so much controversy because there are ethical issues to consider such as the treatment of the animals and the reasoning behind testing on these animals if it’s for a greater cause or not. Whether one if for or against medical testing on animals is not the concern. The concern is the treatment of these animals in these facilities and the quality of life they are given. Animals have given millions around the world a new outlook on life. It is a matter of understanding the animal for what it is and appreciating it for the discoveries that can be made through it. [ 19 ]
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“God loved the birds and he invented trees. Man loved the birds and he invented cages.” —Jacques Deval, French director and playwright
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educating individuals Problem: The everyday person has very minimal knowledge about animal use in medical testing. Because of this lack of knowledge they do not feel informed enough to make a distinct opinion on whether they are for or against the issue.
solution: This biannual report will break down the statistics around animal testing in general. With easy to digest info-graphics, the reader will feel educated and knowledgeable on the issue. The report will have an unbiased opinion so that the reader does not feel persuaded one way or the other.
target audience: I am targeting a early to middle aged population. Those that vote and have strong opinions on issues, but may not necessarily be actively searching out information on animals in medical testing
distribution: Contributors to the World Wildlife Fund will be given the report upon annual donations to the organization.
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2 Would you consider a zoo for an animal equivalent to jail for a human being?
conservation and education Some animals only exist in captivity because there is no
place to reintroduce them. Their once native habitat has either been changed or destroyed and there no longer is a niche where they belong. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (aza) has established the Species Survival Plan Program, whose goal is to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species population within aza accredited zoos and aquariums. It is a natural fact that not all species are going to be around forever no matter what is done to try to save them. It is absolutely normal that several species go extinct everyday and we find several new species on a daily basis. The animals that are most strongly being conserved are the ones that we as humans have decimated because of our inability to be one with nature. The hopes of this conservation is that people will be stimulated to conserve future species. The San Francisco Zoo is one of many that is heavily involved in the conservation of animals. They are a part of intense genetic testing of the animals in order to find partners in other zoos across the nation for the animals to mate with. This is a very
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“Inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share.” —Lindsay Wildlife Museum
important part of breeding as cross breeding animals with their “cousins” can cause many negative issues. In the wild, tigers range for over 10-20 miles looking for food, mates, shelter, water, etc. If we were to go and put everything they need in one place they no longer have a reason or a need to range. This is exactly what zoos do. They provide everything that they need and they go to great lengths to provide the animals with food and water. What many zoos also provide is the stimulation of natural behaviors by immersing the animals and challenging them with their food so that they are stimulated both physically and mentally. An immense amount of interaction and care goes into caring for these animals to make sure they have the best lives possible, not being in the wild.
staff can check out their teeth, or laying down to take an injection without resisting the treatment. Non-evasive medical care is used in zoos and facilities across the world. This kind of medical care helps with the welfare of the animals because it allows them the knowledge to know what is going on and eliminates anaesthesia from even being an option. Many educational programs exist through zoos, aquariums, and wildlife centers across the nation. By having animals in these places many people, both children and adults, have the opportunity to see animals they would never normally see in their lifetime.
The many benefits of zoos to animals is the fact that their diets are monitored very closely, some even down to the ounce of food fed per day. There are veterinarians on staff to insure that the animals are very healthy. The animals are trained to offer up different behaviors such as opening their mouths so the medical [27]
The Average Lifespan of Animals in Captivity vs in The Wild, in Years* *Unless otherwise noted.
3 months
2
3
4
6
50
60
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65
70
8
10
12
45
40
75
80
123
13
15
16
35
18
20
32
Wildlife centers and museums such as Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, ca also provide serious medical treatment for injured wild animals. The Lindsay Wildlife Museum wildlife hospital is the oldest and one of the largest rehabilitation centers in the United States. It treats more than 5,000 injured and orphaned wild animals each year. The hospital is a pioneer in wildlife rehabilitation and many now standard protocols across the country were developed there. More than 98 percent of the animals treated at the hospital are admitted due to adverse contact with human activity. Animals are brought to the museum by the public and the county animal service agency. All services provided by the wildlife hospital are free of charge. Along with treating animals, the museum educates the public to prevent similar problems in the future. Their goal is to provide the best medical and husbandry care within their resources to regional wild animals in need. Once the animal is treated and deemed releasable the animal is either released right away or rehabilitated on site until it is able to be released. If the injury has caused the animal to not be able to survive again in the wild, the animal has a new
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24
30
26
25
home at the wildlife museum and is then a new addition to offer education to visitors. With our population continuing to grow, our activities increasingly have an impact on our local wild neighbors. With a little bit of knowledge, and a few changes in habits, we can reduce the negative and increase the positive impact on our regions wildlife. In 1966 the usda first put into place The Animal Welfare Act. This act protects the treatment of animals in reach, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. These are the minimum standards of care required to be provided for these animals. Since the original placement of this Act many amendments have been made for the improved welfare of the animals. When the Act is violated the violator is fined. Most circuses are found guilty of not following the minimum standards of care including the Ringling Circus, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. [29]
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giraffes have the highest known blood pressure of any mammal in the world. Their blood pressure is twice that of an average humans. Because of this, they cannot run for long periods of time otherwise they will have a heart attack.
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an artificial Life
As much as humans try to learn about animals in order
to provide them with the best quality of life in captivity, the natural atmosphere and needs of the wild can never be fully replaced. These environments will always be artificial. Captivity for animals can easily be related to jail for humans. In both cases everything such as food, water, shelter, medical care, etc is provided. Yet, it is a confined and controlled way of life. Not all zoos, aquariums and circuses meet aza requirements, thus being not in the best interest of the animals. In the US there are no national laws against keeping exotic animals as pets. There are more privately owned tigers in the US alone than exist in the wild. Texas has approximately over 3,000 of these 5,000 tigers, with approximately 3,200 living in the wild in Asia. 8 states in the us—Alabama, Idaho, Ohio, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin—have essentially no laws whatsoever on keeping tigers (and other exotic animals) privately. But 26 other states ban the possession of such creatures in private collections, while 16 require state permits or registration. These uneven regulations make it difficult for officials to be sure exactly how
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many privately owned exotic animals there are in the us—and where they are. Ultimately this lack of regulation is a cause for disaster for both humans and the animals. Most people who buy exotic animals have no idea what they’re getting into. Eventually, the owner may realize it is impossible to meet the animal’s needs, and come to understand the inherent cruelty of keeping the animal captive. Even the most well-meaning person can become frustrated after trying to meet to high demands and special needs of a “pet” monkey for 30 years. But, what can a person do? Most shelters aren’t equipped to handle exotic animals. Reputable zoos won’t take them—and the dealer won’t take the animal back. There are a few sanctuaries for exotic animals, but space is very limited. In the face of so few options, some people will set the animal loose—which is dangerous and illegal. The animal can spread diseases to native species, or could kill native animals and free-roaming pets. Setting the animal loose is also cruel to the animal, since he or she is not adapted for the habitat.
Tiger Population, Private in the United States vs The Wild *Science Daily, Approximate totals because in the US, the government does not track how many tigers are in captivity within its borders, where they are, who owns them, or what happens to their body parts when they die.
States founded to have the highest population of privately owned tigers.
>5,000
The continent of Asia, where tigers can be found living in the wild.
<3,200 [33]
Incidents involving privately owned exotic animals, in the United States: *Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit and educational exotic cat sanctuary
November 19, 2004 in St. Augustine, Florida A 350 lb Siberian tiger attacked and injured a 14 year-old boy, while being walked on a leash in public. The handler was also injured, and the tiger was brought under control by police with Tasers.
September 10, 2005 in Bridgeport, Texas A 4 month-old tiger was discovered wandering in and out of traffic near a highway exit. Officials later discovered that the cub had escaped from the back of his owner’s pickup truck.
March 29, 2006 in Duxbury, Minnesota A 500 kg Bengal tiger attacked and killed Cindy Gamble at her home. She owned a number of big cats, and officials were forced to euthanize the tiger in order to reach the women’s body.
May 1, 2008 in West Palm Beach, Florida A 390 kg white tiger owned by McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary bit its owner in the leg during a video shoot for the rapper Rick Ross.
July 17, 2011 Manchester, Iowa The Delaware County Sheriff ’s Office says 52 year-old Tom Sellner suffered lacerations to his head and torso in the brutal tiger attack at Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester. The Des Moines Register wrote that Sellner and his wife are routinely bitten or clawed and that in this incident, the tiger had ripped the meat from the bone of his upper arm, had practically scalped him with front teeth the size of knife blades. His left ear dangled from his head. Sellner, who was found to be in violation of Iowa’s Dangerous Wild Animal law, was flown to an Iowa City hospital for treatment. The zoo’s website says it has more than 300 birds and animals, including tigers, African lions and other exotic cats.
October 19, 2011 Zanesville, OHio 56 lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears escaped from a the Muskingum County Animal Farm, and the owner Terry Thompson, who had just gotten out of prison was found dead there after shooting himself. Neighbor Danielle White, whose father’s property abuts the animal preserve, said she didn’t see loose animals this time but did in 2006, when a lion escaped. Thompson, who lived on the property, had orangutans and chimps in his home, but those were still in their cages. 18 tigers, 17 lions and 3 cougars were shot to death because the owner had cut all of the doors off the cages to prevent their containment.
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Even the most well-meaning person can become frustrated after trying to meet to high demands and special needs of a “pet” monkey for 30 years.
Ultimately, local governments and taxpayers bear enormous responsibility when exotic animals are set loose or escape and must be recaptured, or when they are seized due to neglect or because they are endangering the community. Owning exotic pets is a true investment that many people do not think of, or are not interested in, but they are mesmerized by the thrill. Most incidents’s of exotic animal attacks are because of negligence of the owner. These are wild animals being kept in public and urban settings. The animal is behaving in its natural way and is no way at fault in any of these situations. The owners of these animals are irresponsible and untrained. Only trained facilities should legally be able to house and own any kind of wild exotic animals.
like dogs and cats don’t do well without people, and wild and exotic animals don’t do well with people. In addition, the little we do know of the needs of exotic animals shows us that we simply cannot meet these needs in captivity. Many monkeys, birds, and wild cats, for example, all can travel several miles in a single day. A walk on a leash through the park won’t cut it. Since the vast majority of people who keep exotic animals cannot meet their needs, the animals may be caged, chained, or even beaten into submission. Sometimes, people will have an animal’s teeth or claws removed, so that the animal cannot harm the owner even when he does struggle.
Experts believe that it took at least five thousand years, and perhaps longer than ten thousand years, for wolves to evolve into dogs. So, there are thousands of years of difference between a wild and a domestic animal. Domesticated animals
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polar bears are one of the few animals that can adapt to a wide range of temperatures
Their natural environment is the Arctic Desert. In places such as Alaska the temperature can get up to 80â&#x20AC;&#x201C;90 degrees. Polar bears have guard hairs on the outside of their fur, with soft hair underneath. These guard hairs absorb heat from the sun and conduct it down these hollow hairs to warm their skin in cold temperatures. When it is hot out, these hairs absorb heat from their body and let it out to cool them down. They also adapt to the temperature by either gaining or losing weight.
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There are thousands of years of difference between a wild and a domestic animal.
The well-being of marine animals in captivity has become more of a concern in recent years. Highly intelligent creatures such as dolphins and orcas entertain visitors at zoos and aquariums, but it is often argued that these animals are only truly happy in their natural environment. That many marine animals in captivity are loved by their keepers is undeniable, but it is a major animal welfare issue concerning how the mental and physical states of marine animals are affected by their confinement. Marine animals require a lot of mental stimulation, and when they are in captivity they will need a lot of personal attention to keep them fully engaged. A group of animals, in the wild, will help create their own mental stimulation through playing and searching for food. In captivity there will be a need to make sure that each animal is encouraged to use its mental capacity, not merely to entertain visitors, but also for its own enjoyment. No artificial environment will be able to replicate the area that a marine animal lives in, in the wild. Some marine animals swim vast distances, and being so restricted in captivity may bring about depression—in the case of the orca—shorten lives. However well they are treated in capacity, some captured In Human Hands
marine animals will find it such a traumatic experience that they will never recover. Nothing will compensate for the loss of freedom for some of these animals. One of the consequences of marine animals being kept in captivity is that they will rely on human beings for food and as playmates. Marine animals will lose their independence not just by being captive—because of their enclosed environment—they will lose their ability to fend for themselves. For young marine mammals particularly, this will then make it more difficult for them to be released back into the wild, as they will struggle to feed themselves, and thus survive. When marine animals are living in a confined space, it is more likely that their physical welfare will be affected. Living in captivity, orcas, for instance, will sometimes become ill because the water they live in is not healthy. Marine animals will also suffer stress in both the process of being caught and being placed in captivity. Though if a bottlenose dolphin is born in captivity it will have not have these acclimatization concerns.
The evolution of a wild wolf into a domesticated dog.
10,000 years ago
Today
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a stand against entertainment Problem: Animals are continuing to be used for entertainment purposes. There will always be an infinite number of animals in captivity all over the world and throughout many years to come. The main concern is not with animals being in captivity, but the welfare of these animals. Animals being used solely for entertainment is not only unjust and cruel, but it is morally wrong. We humans are animals as well and need to have a respect for animals as we do for ourselves.
solution: An awareness campaign including information brochures and posters will help encourage people to be knowledgeable about the facilities they visit. It will encourage people to know whether the facility is dedicated to the conservation of animals, or purely for their entertainment factor.
target audience: Sea World and circuses visitors, both adult and children. I am trying to target people who enjoy animal entertainment, and are uneducated on the harm and pain it causes the animals.
distribution: These information brochures will be distributed in schools and libraries as well as facilities such as zoos, aquariums, and wildlife centers. They will be targeted to younger children and their parents to help bring about a sense of self-responsibility. In Human Hands
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enriching facilities Problem: Not all facilities that house animals have the best interest of the animals in mind. And the ones that do want the best for the animals do not have the resources to be Association of Zoos and Aquariums (aza) compliant.
solution: A toolkit to help facilities become and maintain aza accreditation. The kit will include everything from the toys needed for the animals to the signage and postings educating visitors about the animals.
target audience: Private owners of exotic animals and facilities such as zoos, aquariums and wildlife facilities that house wild, exotic animals.
distribution: This toolkit will be distributed to all facilities, whether privately owned or not, that house exotic animals. With this toolkit the facility can be sure they are up to date with all necessary guidelines and procedures as well as have the best interest of the animals being number one.
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3 Would you rather know where your meat comes from or have it labeled free-range?
for our consumption There is a mutual dependency between humans and
animals. In order to keep things at a constant, we must appreciate animals for what they offer to us, and understand that without them we cannot survive.
We rely on animals most for food consumption. Annually, in the us, over 8 billion land animals and over 50 billion sea animals are killed for a source of food for Americans. To put the number of animals consumed annually in perspective, in the us we eat hundreds of times more animals than are used in research facilities. As well as consuming animal meat, they provide us with milk, fiber for clothing such as wool and leather, fat for products such as soap, as well as manure for crops. Manure, yet still fairly new, is being used as a source of energy for some companies.
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Sirloin Topside
Tenderloin
Rib
Chuck
Rib Plate
Blade
Neck
Rump
Outside
Knuckle Flank
Brisket Shank Shank
Livestock are not only important as producers of meat, milk and eggs, which are part of the modern food chain and provide high value protein food, but other non-food functions, although of declining importance, still provide the rationale for keeping the majority of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s livestock. The driving force behind the surge in demand for livestock products is a combination of population growth, rising incomes and urbanization. The downfall of population growth and urbanization is the destroying of natural animal habitats. When humans destroy these habitats, most do not realize the longterm impact their actions have on the environment. Often, animals play a crucial role in keeping insect populations in check, protecting humans from floods, and maintaining the health of their ecosystems.
Animal meat is often referred to as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfect proteinâ&#x20AC;?. Protein is necessary for our health. Things like healing of skin wounds, hair growth, and cellular reproduction can not regenerate properly without protein. Although protein can be obtained from other sources, a majority of the populations protein intake comes from meat.
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The Number of Animals Killed Annually for American Consumption *The Humane Society of the United States
21 million
39 million
118 million
275 million
7 billion
12 billion
38 billion
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= 1 million animals
About a billion of the world’s poorest people depend on animals for food, income and social status. — World Society for the Protection of Animals
The World Society for the Protection of Animals is the world‘s largest alliance of animal welfare societies, with more than 1,000 member organizations in over 150 countries. The organization strongly believes that how animals are treated matters to animals and to people. Whether we rely on them for food, revenue, companionship, or to help balance our ecosystems, animals play an important role in our lives and we should respect their intrinsic value. Humane and responsible management of animals can positively impact people, the environment, individual animals, and species, thereby making animal welfare an effective tool to help achieve sustainable development.
systems; becoming the producer of choice for retailers and consumers concerned with animal health and welfare, food safety and quality, human health and the environment’ (World Society for the Protection of Animals).
In particular, there is great potential for animal welfare to play a significant role in sustainable livestock farming. As the International Finance Corporation recognized, enhancing animal welfare within production practices is: ‘likely to win or retain a competitive advantage in the marketplace in a variety of ways such as: costs savings due to more efficient production processes that enhance animal welfare; realizing growing market opportunities for food produced in animal friendly
Sustainable agriculture that incorporates animal welfare can help improve market access and the resilience of production models economically and environmentally. Animal welfare is also an integral element that should be considered when addressing key environmental and public health issues impacted by agricultural practices such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, poverty, water scarcity, food security, food safety, gender equality, and the spread of disease.
Livestock farming uses a significant proportion of global land, natural resources and energy and is a vital part of the rural economy and environment. The livestock sector employs 1.3 billion people and about a billion of the world’s poorest people depend on animals for food, income, social status or cultural identification, as well as companionship and security.
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The way livestock is kept and treated is a major concern for consumers If affordable, 10 out of 10 people will purchase cageâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;free chicken eggs and/or freeâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;range/free roaming meat.
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a lack of respect
Most livestock is kept in unsanitary and inhumane situations because it is cheaper for the owner of the facility and causes them to have a higher profit margin. Broilers (chickens raised for meat production) have been bred to grow muscle at a rate faster than ever and now reach market weight in half the time than they did in the 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. This fast rate of muscle growth is often not matched by bone growth and can cause serious deformities and loss of the ability to walk. Broiler chickens are often reared at similarly high densities in pens with concrete slatted floors or occasionally straw covered concrete floors. Because of this high density and a limited ability to forage, chickens often display aggression and can peck each other to death. In order to prevent this, it is common practice to sear off approximately half the chickensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beaks, which has been shown to cause severe and lasting pain. The close quarters is also a haven for the spread of disease.
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Layers (or chickens used in egg production) can essentially be starved for up to two weeks, to induce molting and increase egg production once the feeding cycle is resumed. While molting is a natural response to the onset of a winter season, in its Animal Husbandry Guidelines, the United Egg Producers (uep) condemned the use of starvation methods to induce molting.
98% of chickens used in egg production live in a cage of about 48 square inches. the exact size of this rectangle.
48 sq in
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“We protect ‘companion animals’ like hamsters while largely ignoring what amounts to the torture of chickens and cows and pigs.” —Mark Bittman, writer for “The New York Times”
Where does the line between ‘pet’ and ‘animal’ get drawn? When the aspca sends an agent to the home of a Brooklyn family to arrest one of its members for allegedly killing a hamster, something is wrong. That ‘something’ is this: we protect ‘companion animals’ like hamsters while largely ignoring what amounts to the torture of chickens and cows and pigs. If you own a pig as a pet, you can’t kick it. If you keep a pig you intend to sell for food, by law you can pretty much torture it. State laws known as ‘Common Farming Exemptions’ allow industry—rather than lawmakers— to make any practice legal as long as it’s common. We ‘process’ (that means kill) nearly 10 billion animals annually in this country, approximately one-sixth of the world’s total. Many, if not most, of these animals are raised (or not, since probably a couple of hundred million are killed at birth) industrially, in conditions that the philosopher Peter Singer and others have compared to concentration camps. Might we more usefully police those who keep egg-laying hens in cages so small the birds can’t open their wings, for example, than In Human Hands
anger-management-challenged young people accused of killing a hamster? But according to Common Farming Exemptions, as long as one is ‘raising’ animals for food and the same is done by fellow ‘farmers’ (or manufacturers) around 200 million male chicks a year through can be out through grinders, castrate— mostly without anesthetic—65 million calves and piglets a year, breed sick animals (note: more than half a billion eggs were recalled last summer, from just two Iowa farms) who in turn breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria, allow those sick animals to die without individual veterinary care, imprison animals in cages so small they cannot turn around, skin live animals, or kill animals in the masses to stem disease outbreaks. All of this is legal, because we will eat them. Animal protection activists in the us have long sought legislation to modify or curtail some practices considered by us agriculture to be acceptable or even necessary to animal health. Members of Congress over the years have offered various bills that would affect animal care on the farm, during transport, or at slaughter; several proposals have been introduced in the 111th Congress. Members of the House and Senate Agriculture
Committees generally have expressed a preference for voluntary rather than regulatory approaches to humane care. Meanwhile, animal activists have won initiatives in several states to impose some care requirements on animal producers. At the state level, laws to prevent deliberate animal cruelty sometimes apply to farm animals, but few states have prescribed on-farm treatment standards. That appears to be changing in states where animal activists have sponsored successful ballot measures to impose care standards on animal producers. In Florida, voters approved a 2002 ballot measure outlawing gestation crates for pigs; in Arizona, voters did the same, along with a veal stall ban, in 2006. In 2008, California voters approved so-called Proposition 2, which will require that veal calves, egg-laying hens, and pregnant pigs be allowed to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely. The California law, to take effect in 2015, subjects violators to misdemeanor penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and/or 180 days in jail. Maine and Michigan, for example, also recently have passed laws regulating the housing of farm animals.
Improving animal welfare in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial agriculture system will require widespread changes in the attitudes of farm owners, managers, and workers, but many technical adjustments that make animals more comfortable and content are simply a matter of better training and attention to the animals. Many practices considered to be more humane are beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer: happy animals tend to be healthier, less prone to disease and premature death, and produce better quality meat, milk, and eggs. The best possible thing consumers can do to improve the standards of animal welfare in farming is to buy from local, independent farms and small-scale, sustainable family farms that provide their animals with good food and housing, promote general health and allow them to carry out their natural behaviors like rooting, pecking, and grazing. Meeting the farmer and visiting their farm will give you a good idea of how their animals live. By supporting sustainable farming, consumers vote with their dollars for a higher standard of treatment and quality of life for farm animals. [55]
Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of broiler chickens have trouble walking. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;SustainableTable.org
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[57]
do you know what you eat? Problem: People are not fully aware of the drugs corporations are pumping into their food. Not all livestock animals are all-natural. Many are injected with hormones to bulk up their meat, making them more profitable in a shorter amount of growing time. These hormones hurt the animals severely. Most broiler chickens can not walk because their bodies are too heavy for their legs to carry them. Just think what these hormones can do to us, humans when ingested through the meat we eat daily. This is just one of several facts that are not clearly portrayed to the consumer.
solution: A poster campaign will expose the livestock industry with alarming statistics and facts on the animals and food we eat. It will encourage self-responsibility to know what you are purchasing and eating. The more you know, the more you can make an informed decision.
target audience: Young adults starting their lives in their own, including the purchasing of their own household foods.
distribution: The campaign will be a non-profit campaign distributed throughout major cities across the us. It will encourage people to buy locally and fresh and not purchase through large corporations.
In Human Hands
[59]
Something worth listening to Problem: There is not enough education
solution: A lecture series with speakers from all walks of life. The main focus will be on animal welfare, including naturalists and farmers.
target audience: Younger aged children and their parents. This series will try to instill practices into our future generation.
distribution: This series will have events and lectures in major metropolitan areas across the us.
In Human Hands
ANIMAL TALK CREATURES WORTH SAVING
ANIMAL TALK CREATURES WORTH SAVING
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;we need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. in a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never
In Human Hands
attained, living by voices we shall never hear. they are not brethren, not underlings; they are other nations, in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Henry Beston
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Colophon
sources
focus group participants
Univers LT Std, Light Condensed:
Americans for Medical Progress
Hamza Douaifia
60 pt, all caps: Intro and Conclusion
Speaking of Research
Traci Lofton
38 pt: Cover and Half Cover Title
The Humane Society of the United States
Carissa Hausknecht
30 pt, all caps: Chapter Titles & Table of Contents
“Wild Animals In Captivity,” Rob Laidlaw
Copeland McKinley
20 pt: Infographic Titles 12 pt: Infographic Text
All About Wildlife, Top 10 endangered species and wild animal facts
Mike Howles
7 pt: Captions, Folios, Cover and Half Cover Subtitle
World Wildlife Fund The Jane Goodall Institute
Univers LT Std, Light Ultra Condensed:
“Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management, 2nd Edition,” Devra G. Kleiman, Katerina V. Thompson, Charlotte Kirk Baer
45 pt, all caps: Quotes on Full Bleed Images & Quotes on 3/4 Bleed Images 30 pt: Pull Quotes 12 pt: Pull Quote Attributes & Quote Captions on Full Bleed Images Adobe Caslon Pro: 9 pt: Body Copy
Education Reform Animal Equality, International organization for abolition of animal slavery Big Cat Rescue, A non-profit educational sanctuary Science Daily “The Animal Research War,” P. Michael Conn & James V. Parker
Joslande Gracien Natalie Bertsch Myra Ware Caitlin Aimes Allison Lewis
special thanks Lee Pruitt Amy Shipley