Scrap Factory Farming by David Finney

THE Scrap Factory Farming Campaign recently took its case to the Royal Court of Justice for a review, refused by the Judge – and will now seek an appeal via the Court of Appeal.

Background

The Scrap Factory Farming campaign was inspired by a book called Chickens’ Lib, written by Clare Druce, which exposed the contradiction between animal welfare legislation and factory (intensive) farming. This gave me the idea to launch a legal challenge which I shared with Jane Tredgett, founder of Humane Being. The person who brought us all together was a Humane Being volunteer, Peta Smith. This was in November 2019 and ever since we have been researching the risks and impacts of factory farming. We already had fairly good knowledge of the hideous treatment of farmed animals, and we were aware of some of the environmental impacts such as climate change and pollution., although we were less aware of the contribution made to deforestation in terms of the

majority of soya being purchased from south America to feed farmed animals. What really surprised us in our research were the health risks. For instance, the World Health Organisation stating that 75% of new and emerging diseases in humans are coming from (non-human) animals and how the overuse and misuse of antibiotics on people and animals was creating a resistance to antibiotics which – unless something is done – is predicted to kill 10 million a year by 2050. This national and global issue was once described by UK Government Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock as “the silent pandemic”. When Dr Alice Brough became a co-claimant for the case, we had a qualified pig vet who had seen these issues first hand; witnessed accounts that cannot be ignored.

Celebrity Support

We are delighted that respected actors Peter Egan and Jerome Flynn became ambassadors for the campaign - Peter was featured in the recent Daily Mirror article about the legal action. Liz Solari, an actress from Argentina is also an ambassador and has been really supportive.

Coalition of Campaign Groups

We are delighted that PETA, ANIMAL AID, AN- IMAL EQUALITY, VIVA!, THE HUMANE LEAGUE and COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING have all given us fantastic support and have united with us in our aims. Compassion, of course have been fighting against factory farming since the sixties. We have had fantastic support from many other organisations and people who are concerned as we are – and for this we are so grateful.

Michael Mansfield & Court

Michael - Yes indeed! That was Jane Tredgett’s brainwave! She simply wrote and asked him, he said yes immediately.

Michael Mansfield QC was invited to present a summary of the arguments, then there was a response from the Defra barrister, and then a further response from Michael Mansfield. One contention was the Defra legal representative stating that the government has an existing “framework” in place which addressed the risks we presented. Michael Mansfield’s response was that this framework was reactive and not preventive – i.e., does not address the root causes of zoonotic disease and the antibiotics issue.

The Judge agreed with the Defra legal representative. This verdict hit us hard but we are determined to continue the fight and already had a Plan B. We will be seeking an appeal via the Court of Appeal. That’s the next step.

Twitter & Social Media

These have been immense in helping us build this campaign.. Just prior to the court hearing, we launched a Twitter storm and there was terrific use of the #scrapfactoryfarming hashtag!

Factory Farms & the Welfare Myth

Most farmed animals are farmed in factory farms although the numbers vary, & It depends which way you count it – according to Compassion in World Farming, if you include all the farmed animals, it is just over 70%, but if you focus on pigs and chickens then it is around 90%. We have focussed our research on animals who are intensively farmed.. As to whether there’s a danger that people may choose a ‘higher welfare’ product if we succeed in scrapping Factory farming - Yes there is. The main reason we have focussed on factory farming is that it represents the highest risk in terms of our health, and the highest impact in terms of environmental damage and animal cruelty. We see this as extremely urgent for animals, people and the planet.

The frustrating aspect of this is the time it takes. It took us two years to get into a court to be heard. We see no reason why factory farming cannot be confined to history like the other obscene & outdated practices this country has facilitated in the past such as the slave trade, refusing people a vote based on their gender, and denial of gay rights. Peter Tatchell is also an ambassador of our campaign and has demonstrated how dramatic change can take place.

Get involved

There are so many ways you can help!

- Sharing our Tweets

- Sharing our posts

- Helping us with our legal fees as Humane Being is a not-forprofit run entirely by volunteers

- Telling friends, family and work colleagues why this is so important is a massive help in terms of raising awareness.

- Writing to your local MP about your concerns over Factory Farming could also be really powerful in mounting public pressure.

"Factory Farming = Pandemics"