Animal Welfare

In 1998 Council Directive 98/58/EC gave general rules on the protection of all farm animals specifically kept for the production of food, wool, skin, or fur. This also included animals used for other farming purposes such as, fish, reptiles, or amphibians. These rules originated from the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes. These rules are seen within the “Five Freedoms” that are adopted by the Farm Animal Welfare Council. These Five Freedoms include:

“Freedom from hunger and thirst - access to fresh water and a diet for full health and vigour

Freedom from discomfort - an appropriate environment with shelter and comfortable rest area, 

Freedom from pain, injury and disease - prevention or rapid treatment,

Freedom to express normal behaviour - adequate space and facilities, company of the animal's own kind, 

 Freedom from fear and distress - conditions and treatment which avoid mental sufferings.”

Of these Five Freedoms, the first freedom from hunger and thirst would seem the easiest for farmers to comply with. “Access to fresh water and a diet full health and vigour” seems to also be the most important in this instance. It is also in their best interest to keep their livestock, especially in the production of food, very well feed. The last freedom from fear and distress may be the hardest for farmers to comply with because it is a very hard aspect to measure whether not your livestock has a mental suffering is hard especially when you may have a large amount of livestock. It is hard to tell even when humans are having mental suffering let alone a fish. Overall, this is the hardest freedom to comply with because it is difficult to measure especially in smaller non-mammals.  

            “Freedom to express normal behavior” means that the animals are allowed to practice their natural behaviors, rather than being forced to act otherwise. Normal behavior for a cow is to roam a field, not be kept in a small confined space for 24 hours a day for seven days a week. That is not normal for a cow. In the case for broilers, it would be allowing farm animals the ability to partake in behaviors that would normally be doing if they were not farm animals. Additionally, being in the presence of animals that are of the same species allows for a more “normal” atmosphere. The freedom to express normal behavior overall helps with mental suffering by giving them overall freedom to partake in natural behaviors.

When it comes to farm pigs, it is a banned practice to use individual stalls for pregnant sows and gilts, specifically starting from 4 weeks after service to one week before the expected time of the birth of a litter. It also banned to use chains or ropes to restrict the movement of pigs. The humane Society mentioned that Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, and Oregon all have regulations against tether pigs, however, some range from only pregnant pigs, all farm animals, or calves raised for veal. However, in the United States the majority of pregnant sows are kept in confined and individual gestation crates for most of their lives. In the New York Times, they mention that nine states and 60 companies have banned the use of gestation crates.

           

Mercy for Animals accuses Rosewood Farms of killing piglets by slamming them o concrete floors, castrating them without painkillers, and roughly beating and curing at sows. They also accuse, Rosewood Farm of restricting sows to gestation crates for their entire lives. They also mentioned that the mental state of the pigs at rosewood Farm was also a large issue concerning their behavior of banging their heads against the bars and biting the bars. The investigator also claimed that the pigs would be in such a mental state that they would turn to eat their own babies.

When compared to the practices banned by the European Union, Rosewood Farms would be severely rejecting the E.U.’s bans. Considering all of the Five Freedoms it seems that most of these if not all were probably being neglected. They were not granted freedom from discomfort by being kept in small refined gestation cages. They were not granted freedom from pain or injury granted that physical abuse of the pigs and piglets was a major issue in the findings and also the fact that they were castrated without painkillers. They were not granted freedom of normal behavior or the freedom from distress or fear because they were not partaking in any normal behaviors by the observation of the investigator that they were supposedly eat their own piglets and banging their heads against bars.

            Rosewood was a Walmart supplier, and the reaction of Walmart was that they found the behavior of the farm unacceptable but were unwilling to change their policy. They stated that they would be reviewing the situation on their own. They went on to state that they were working toward a model that would be respectful of both farmers and animals and still meet the consumers view of how the animals should  be treated. Walmart does not change its policy on the use of two feet crates being used for sows, but 60 companies including McDonalds, Burger King, and Costco have made a ban for the suppliers.