It does concern me that the organization and the commercial industry are attempting legislation that would impact the Backyard and Exhibition Poultry folks.
Here is the link to their joint press release, pasted below. http://www.unitedegg.org/homeNews/UEP_Press_Release_7-7-11.pdf
http://www.unitedegg.org
We should all contact our Congressmen and Senators and demand that at the very least, Backyard and Exhibition flocks be specifically exempt from the industry rules. Please understand, I am opposed to 10-20 hens stuffed into a pen we would only put one or 2 in. However, the organization has made it clear they want NO animal ownership. A minority of society should not be able to force a majority to change a way of life.
My biggest concern is the part that reads: prohibit the sale of eggs and egg products nationwide that dont meet these requirements. If Backyard and Exhibition flocks do not meet their standards, we can not sell our eggs. In other words, no egg or chick sells if we do meet their standards.
Please post your thoughts on this. Lets agree to disagree if we disagree. Lets not agrue over minor points. But stand UNITED to preserve ownership of Backyard and Exhibition Poultry!
Here is the link to their joint press release, pasted below. http://www.unitedegg.org/homeNews/UEP_Press_Release_7-7-11.pdf
http://www.unitedegg.org
We should all contact our Congressmen and Senators and demand that at the very least, Backyard and Exhibition flocks be specifically exempt from the industry rules. Please understand, I am opposed to 10-20 hens stuffed into a pen we would only put one or 2 in. However, the organization has made it clear they want NO animal ownership. A minority of society should not be able to force a majority to change a way of life.
My biggest concern is the part that reads: prohibit the sale of eggs and egg products nationwide that dont meet these requirements. If Backyard and Exhibition flocks do not meet their standards, we can not sell our eggs. In other words, no egg or chick sells if we do meet their standards.
Please post your thoughts on this. Lets agree to disagree if we disagree. Lets not agrue over minor points. But stand UNITED to preserve ownership of Backyard and Exhibition Poultry!
Historic Agreement Hatched to Set National Standard
for Nations Egg Industry
HSUS and UEP Find Common Ground and a New Way Forward
Ballot Measures Suspended in Oregon and Washington
(July 7, 2011)The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announce an unprecedented agreement to work together toward the enactment of comprehensive new federal legislation for all 280 million hens involved in U.S. egg production. The proposed standards advocated by UEP and organization, if enacted, would be the first federal law addressing the treatment of animals on farms.
The proposed legislation would:
require conventional cages (currently used by more than 90 percent of the egg industry) to be replaced, through an ample phase-in period, with new, enriched housing systems that provide each hen nearly double the amount of space theyre currently allotted. Egg producers will invest an additional $4 billion over the next decade and a half to effect this industry-wide make-over;
require that all egg-laying hens be provided, through the new enriched housing system, with environments that will allow hens to express natural behaviors, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas;
mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as eggs from caged hens, eggs from hens in enriched cages, eggs from cage-free hens, and eggs from free-range hens;
prohibit feed- or water-withholding molting to extend the laying cycle, a practice already prohibited by the United Egg Producers Certified program adhered to by a majority of egg farmers;
require standards approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association for euthanasia for egg laying hens;
prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses;
prohibit the sale of eggs and egg products nationwide that dont meet these requirements.
The two groups will jointly ask Congress for federal legislation which would require egg producers to increase space per bird in a tiered phase in, with the amount of space birds are given increasing, in intervals, over the next 15 to 18 years. Currently, the majority of birds are each provided 67 square inches of space, with roughly 50 million receiving 48 square inches. The
proposed phase-in would culminate with hens nationwide being provided a minimum of 124 -
144 square inches of space, along with the other improvements noted.
Americas egg producers have continually worked to improve animal welfare, and we strongly
believe our commitment to a national standard for hen welfare is in the best interest of our
animals, customers and consumers, said Bob Krouse, chairman of UEP and an Indiana egg
farmer. We are committed to working together for the good of the hens in our care and believe a
national standard is far superior than a patchwork of state laws and regulations that would be
cumbersome for our customers and confusing to consumers.
Passing this bill would be an historic improvement for hundreds of millions of animals per
year, stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. It
is always our greatest hope to find common ground and to forge solutions, even with traditional
adversaries. We are excited about a new and better pathway forward, and hope the Congress
seizes the opportunity to embrace this sort of collaboration and mutual understanding. We extend
our thanks to the producers within the industry for agreeing to make the needed investments to
upgrade their housing and to improve animal welfare in a meaningful way.
If passed by Congress, the legislation would supersede state laws including those that have been
passed in Arizona, California, Michigan and Ohio. In recognition of ballot Proposition 2 passed
by voters in that California in 2008, UEP and organization will ask Congress to require California egg
producers with nearly 20 million laying hens to eliminate conventional cages by 2015 (the
date Prop 2 is scheduled to go into effect), and provide all hens with the space and environmental
enrichments that the rest of the egg industry will be phasing in over the next 15 to 18 years.
These requirements will also apply to the sale of all eggs and egg products in California under
the proposed federal legislation.
This agreement to pass comprehensive federal legislation for standards of egg production puts a
hold on planned ballot measures related to egg-laying hens in both Washington and Oregon.
-30-
Media Contacts:
HSUS: Anna West, 757-575-0079, [email protected]; Heather Sullivan, 240-
477-2551, [email protected]
UEP: Jewanna Porter, 404-367-2761, [email protected]
The Humane Society of the United States is the nations largest animal protection organizationbacked by 12
million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The organization has been fighting for the protection
of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty
on the web at humanesociety.org.
United Egg Producers (UEP) is a Capper-Volstead cooperative for U.S. egg farmers, representing the ownership of
approximately 80 percent of the nations egg-laying hens. UEP members produce eggs using various systems
including modern cage production, cage-free, free range, organic and other specialty eggs. For more information
about UEP, please go to unitedegg.org.
for Nations Egg Industry
HSUS and UEP Find Common Ground and a New Way Forward
Ballot Measures Suspended in Oregon and Washington
(July 7, 2011)The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announce an unprecedented agreement to work together toward the enactment of comprehensive new federal legislation for all 280 million hens involved in U.S. egg production. The proposed standards advocated by UEP and organization, if enacted, would be the first federal law addressing the treatment of animals on farms.
The proposed legislation would:
require conventional cages (currently used by more than 90 percent of the egg industry) to be replaced, through an ample phase-in period, with new, enriched housing systems that provide each hen nearly double the amount of space theyre currently allotted. Egg producers will invest an additional $4 billion over the next decade and a half to effect this industry-wide make-over;
require that all egg-laying hens be provided, through the new enriched housing system, with environments that will allow hens to express natural behaviors, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas;
mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as eggs from caged hens, eggs from hens in enriched cages, eggs from cage-free hens, and eggs from free-range hens;
prohibit feed- or water-withholding molting to extend the laying cycle, a practice already prohibited by the United Egg Producers Certified program adhered to by a majority of egg farmers;
require standards approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association for euthanasia for egg laying hens;
prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses;
prohibit the sale of eggs and egg products nationwide that dont meet these requirements.
The two groups will jointly ask Congress for federal legislation which would require egg producers to increase space per bird in a tiered phase in, with the amount of space birds are given increasing, in intervals, over the next 15 to 18 years. Currently, the majority of birds are each provided 67 square inches of space, with roughly 50 million receiving 48 square inches. The
proposed phase-in would culminate with hens nationwide being provided a minimum of 124 -
144 square inches of space, along with the other improvements noted.
Americas egg producers have continually worked to improve animal welfare, and we strongly
believe our commitment to a national standard for hen welfare is in the best interest of our
animals, customers and consumers, said Bob Krouse, chairman of UEP and an Indiana egg
farmer. We are committed to working together for the good of the hens in our care and believe a
national standard is far superior than a patchwork of state laws and regulations that would be
cumbersome for our customers and confusing to consumers.
Passing this bill would be an historic improvement for hundreds of millions of animals per
year, stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. It
is always our greatest hope to find common ground and to forge solutions, even with traditional
adversaries. We are excited about a new and better pathway forward, and hope the Congress
seizes the opportunity to embrace this sort of collaboration and mutual understanding. We extend
our thanks to the producers within the industry for agreeing to make the needed investments to
upgrade their housing and to improve animal welfare in a meaningful way.
If passed by Congress, the legislation would supersede state laws including those that have been
passed in Arizona, California, Michigan and Ohio. In recognition of ballot Proposition 2 passed
by voters in that California in 2008, UEP and organization will ask Congress to require California egg
producers with nearly 20 million laying hens to eliminate conventional cages by 2015 (the
date Prop 2 is scheduled to go into effect), and provide all hens with the space and environmental
enrichments that the rest of the egg industry will be phasing in over the next 15 to 18 years.
These requirements will also apply to the sale of all eggs and egg products in California under
the proposed federal legislation.
This agreement to pass comprehensive federal legislation for standards of egg production puts a
hold on planned ballot measures related to egg-laying hens in both Washington and Oregon.
-30-
Media Contacts:
HSUS: Anna West, 757-575-0079, [email protected]; Heather Sullivan, 240-
477-2551, [email protected]
UEP: Jewanna Porter, 404-367-2761, [email protected]
The Humane Society of the United States is the nations largest animal protection organizationbacked by 12
million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The organization has been fighting for the protection
of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty
on the web at humanesociety.org.
United Egg Producers (UEP) is a Capper-Volstead cooperative for U.S. egg farmers, representing the ownership of
approximately 80 percent of the nations egg-laying hens. UEP members produce eggs using various systems
including modern cage production, cage-free, free range, organic and other specialty eggs. For more information
about UEP, please go to unitedegg.org.
