Polls Find Widespread Opposition to Cruel Veal Production in NJ
Press Release | Text of Bill | Farm Sanctuary's Testimony
Assemblywoman Weinberg's Statement | Senator Bryant's Statement

Emaciated Animals, Crated Calves, Starved Hens…
Humane Standards?

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) is under heavy fire since publishing standards in early May for the “humane” treatment of farm animals. Citizens, humane organizations, veterinarians, and even some farmers are outraged by the department’s proposal, which endorses many of the most contentious industry practices on U.S. farms.

New Jersey has become a key battleground state for opponents of controversial agribusiness practices. Over 100 New Jersey residents spoke at a public hearing at Rutgers University on the standards on June 20, and the Department has received thousands of comments from concerned citizens.

Animal protection groups such as Farm Sanctuary, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, Compassion in World Farming, and United Poultry Concerns, have been joined by veterinarians, doctors, businesses, and even farmers in denouncing the standards on the following grounds:

• The NJDA endorses forced molting, whereby egg-laying hens are starved for up to 14 days to shock their systems into an additional egg-laying cycle.
• The NJDA allows the transport and marketing of emaciated animals and downed animals (i.e., animals too sick even to stand).
• The NJDA endorses gestation crates, narrow metal enclosures in which breeding pigs are confined for most of their lives, unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably.
• The NJDA adopts, verbatim, the practices of the U.S. Veal Industry, including tethering calves by their neck in crates, denying them movement, solid food, and adequate dietary iron.
• The NJDA allows painful mutilations, including tail docking, ear notching, toe and beak amputation, and castration, to be performed without anesthesia.

Research indicates that animals subjected to the industry practices endorsed by the NJDA suffer both physically and psychologically. Many of these practices have been banned in Europe.

At a June 19 press conference at the state capitol in Trenton, Gene Bauston of Farm Sanctuary stated, “The NJDA not only failed to meet its legal obligation to produce reasonable humane standards, it also ignored extensive scientific evidence detailing animal welfare problems caused by these farming practices, and disregarded public opinion.”