Cliff Gauldin noted yesterday at Feedstuffs Online that, "It has been two months since Ohio farm group leaders met with representatives of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to talk about livestock and poultry confinement issues. The animal welfare group is waiting to hear if the groups want to talk some more.
"On Feb. 17, Paul Shapiro, who heads up the HSUS Factory Farming Campaign, sat down with representatives of the Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB), the Ohio Veterinary Medical Assn. and leaders from the state’s pork, beef and poultry organizations.
"We certainly have made it clear that we are contemplating the possibility of a ballot initiative in Ohio,' said Shapiro. 'At the same time, we also made it clear that our preference is to avert a ballot initiative campaign.'"
The article explained that, "HSUS wants sow gestation stalls, veal crates and laying hen battery cages phased out in Ohio, just as they were in a California vote last November. However, HSUS would prefer that Ohio take the same route as Colorado, where farm group leaders agreed to a legislative compromise that headed off an initiative drive.
"'They went to great lengths to explain how it would be in our best interest to do things that way,' said Joe Cornely, OFB spokesman. 'The bottom line was: 'If we don’t work together on legislation, then we're going to take it to the ballot."
"Cornely said OFB has been communicating with its membership and elevated the urgency level on the issue."
Yesterday’s Feedstuffs article also explained that, "HSUS is conducting Humane Lobby Days in 40 states this year, but Shapiro said Ohio is the only one in which the group has met with farm leaders to discuss confinement issues and the possibility of a ballot measure.
"'Ohio has 28 million laying hens,' Shapiro noted. 'There are a lot of breeding pigs there. It also is a serious veal production state. As an animal welfare organization, our mission is to reduce animal suffering. As with California, we’re interested in enacting policy that reduces the suffering of large numbers of animals.'
"Ohio ranks second nationally in egg production and ninth in hogs. Cornely said it’'s anybody's guess as to why Ohio seems to be the next target."
In a related article, the AP reported on Sunday that, "One of the state Senate’s leaders wants to ensure that cattle, poultry and pigs raised in California aren't routinely given antibiotics, a practice consumer advocates say can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
"A Senate committee Tuesday will hear legislation authored by Majority Leader Dean Florez that would bar ranchers and farmers, starting in 2015, from giving feed containing antibiotics to healthy animals to promote growth and ward off disease.
"The bill would also prohibit schools, starting in 2012, from serving students meat from animals that have been routinely treated with antibiotics and would require state and local government facilities to try to buy antibiotic-free meat for their kitchens."
