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If that video upsets you,
Then buy your milk, and meats from local farms, free range chicken eggs can actually be bought in many larger shopping chains now adays.
We have a few cows and other agriculture up at my work. One is a bull calf. Meaning after his dairy cow mom had him, there was no point for the farmer to keep him. He can not produce milk, and he didn't want to waist his time raising our auctioning the calf for meat. So instead of having a vet come out to put him down(approx a 50$ cost around here) he tied him to a post, thats it just tied him out there on a 1 foot chain. He didn't find anything wrong with that, and sadly state officials didn't either (you would all be amazed at your statewide agriculture law) So before the calf died as he hung there (no food or water or room to lay down will do that to a cow after a certain period of time) My boss went and picked him up, now he lives on th Societies property. It's amazing what you learn just looking into your statewide agriculture law.
Then again, I'm not a farmer and it is not my living.
Rusty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guitrage
Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows of any feeder supply companies that have reputations for providing their feeders with quality lives? By this I mean ample room for the rodents and proper treatment, not crammed living situations like the animals we eat! I don't want to buy any rodents from companies that treat their mice/rats like we treat our cattle/chickens. Here's what I mean: Meet Your Meat
Anyone have any references?
Thanks
Thank you for posting that.
I think it’s awesome that you show concern for animals.
I have been looking into farms that do raise the animals humanely. In my search I contacted the humane society to see if they have lists or ideas and this was their response.
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Thank you for contacting The Humane Society of the United States.
There isn't a nationwide list of farms that raise and slaughter animals humanely. There are several ways of finding places to purchase organically raised items and humanely raised items. The best way to be sure that the animal was raised humanely is to talk with the farmer and ask questions concerning such topics as diet ( is the animal fed natural foods, antibiotics, grains, vegetables, animal byproducts) ; housing (does the animal have free range or is it caged or crated - if free-range then ask if it spends time outdoors or is farmer's version of free-range meaning that the animal has the freedom of a barn but doesn't actually go outside). You can find more information on these topics on our website www.hsus.org . Just enter "humanely raised" in the search box.
Finding out if the animal was humanely slaughtered is more difficult. Again, start with the farmer, if possible. Find out where the animal is slaughtered. If the farmer does it himself then he could tell you how humanely he does it. Was the animal stunned, insensitive to pain prior to being slaughtered. For more information on humane slaughter check out the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act ( http://www.animallaw.info/topics/spu...eslaughter.htm ) and again check out our website and list "Humane Slaughter Act" in the search box.
Here are some other websites that you should find helpful.
http://www.eatwellguide.org - The Eat Well Guide is a free directory of sustainably-raised beef, poultry, dairy and eggs from stores, farms and restaurants across the country. You can enter your zip code and search for places in your area or you can do a more "Advanced Search" where you not only enter your zip code but criteria such as the products (beef, chickens, turkeys,etc.) and methods used (such as cage-free / free-ranged-roaming / no added hormones / no antibiotics) then select farmers and stores.
This will bring up a list of places in your area ( from 5 miles to 50 miles away)
Local farmers markets are a very good place to purchase organically raised fruits and vegetables. Not only are you helping the local economy, but you have a chance to talk to the person who actually raised the food and find out how it was raised. Most farmers will gladly tell you if they are organic or use pesticides. Most farmers markets will have one or two farmers who raise animals in a humane environment.
Several supermarkets are starting to carry humanely raised items. If there is a Whole Foods store ( http://www.wholefoods.com/ ) in your area, you might want to check it out. But be sure to read the packages carefully to be sure the product you are interested in is humanely raised. Not all products carried by this food chain are humanely raised, but they do make sure that items carry appropriate labeling and they carry a large selection of humanely raised items. Again, there is no way of knowing if the animal was humanely slaughtered unless it is listed on the packaging.
http://www.organicvalley.coop - Several stores now carry Organic Valley products. Their website will not only give you more information about them but help you find a place near you that carries their products.
http://www.certifiedhumane.com/ - Citing growing consumer concern over the treatment of farm animals, Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), an independent nonprofit organization supported by a coalition of the nation’s leading animal protection organizations, today unveiled the “Certified Humane Raised & Handled” labeling and certification program. The new “Certified Humane” label on food packaging instantly assures consumers that meat, poultry, egg or dairy products come from animals raised at facilities meeting precise, objective, and humane standards for farm animal treatment.
http://vegweb.com/food/ - this site has a large selection of vegetarian recipes as does http://eartheasy.com/eat_vegetarian.htm and you can vegetarian and vegan resource information, including nutritional information at the Vegetarian Resource Group http://www.vrg.org/
Again, Thank you and I hope you find this information useful.
Sincerely
Peg McCarthy
Administrative Assistant
Farm Animals and Sustainable Agriculture
The Humane Society of the United States
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Hope that helps.
Hugs and Hissessss,
Maria
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What an awesome response! They really seem like they care and know what they're talking about. There are tons of great references in there, thanks so much for sharing it with us!
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I used to work at a hog confinement and it wasn't anything like what I saw in that video. Granted they aren't treated like your household pet, of all the different confinements I had been in (well over 20) None were like that. I think they chose some of the most extreme situations to show, which is bad that some of them are treated like that.
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Yeah, I'm sure that the video is representative of the extreme conditions, and that not all places are like that. Still, if I can avoid it, I will.
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If you tell a breeder that you want to breed their rats for feeders, they will not sell anything to you
That is very true. If you go onto any pet-rat forum, you are immediately demonized if you admit you own snakes.
I actually had trouble, back before I bred my own rats, buying them at one of my local pet stores. Seems there are people who will go in and buy the whole lot of rats, because they want to "rescue" them from becoming feeders! I could not imagine what these peoples' houses must look like, if they rescue that many rats and keep them as pets! But now that I breed my own, I know that they come from a healthy bloodline and are treated humanely in my care.
Regarding PETA, I really do not take their words as gospel truths. They are, after all, among the people who would love to make our reptiles illegal to own as pets. Check out this entertaining site! http://www.helpinganimals.com/Factsh...splay.asp?ID=9 Granted, many reptiles, especially imports, are kept in deplorable conditions and sold to ignoramus owners. And I actually found myself aggreeing with some of peta's opinions regarding the ignorance in the pet trade. but they make herps seem to be a ton of work, and they go on and on about how they're susceptible to diseases... like dogs and cats aren't?
Also, they do not allow for the excellent herp breeders out there, which is sad. I do not like this quote from their site: "
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Buying captive-bred animals only encourages breeders to replenish their stock.
I know of several stellar breeders, and I gladly support them.
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