Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
prevents it from being cold all day. Or the dog is getting fat
and its owner imposes a dreaded diet. Though it wants to eat
so much more, the owner knows that denying it unlimited
food is in its long-term best interest.
For similar reasons, farmers must sometimes sacrifice one
aspect of animal welfare to provide another. Hogs are usu-
ally raised on concrete where they are denied the ability to
explore, rest comfortably (though hogs often prefer concrete in
the summer), and dig. Yet being on concrete makes for more
sterile housing, thereby improving the health of the animal
(and the safety of the meat). Laying hens are sometimes placed
in a small, barren cage with a few other birds. This makes
for an unenriched environment, but if allowed to roam free
in the barn with thousands of other hens they will injure one
another, causing pain and resulting in higher death losses.
The hens would also like to go outside and hunt for insects,
but free-range farms can have very high mortality rates (up to
25 percent, compared to 3 percent in cage systems). It is true
that cattle in feedlots are not allowed to graze in pastures,
but it is also true that they are given an alternative feed that
they crave even more than grass and are given individualized
attention more frequently by animal managers.
There are times when you must choose between your happi-
ness and the dog's—sometimes you choose your own. It wants
to go on a walk, but you are tired and your favorite show just
came on. It misses going into the backyard whenever it wants,
but you can't afford to repair the fence right now. There are
even cases when a pet is euthanized because the surgery to
keep it alive without pain is too expensive.
Similarly, most consumers will simply not pay the premium
necessary to provide all animal needs. If farmers must sell
food products at the lowest prices, then farms must operate
efficiently, and this requires them to sacrifice some elements of
animal welfare to keep food affordable. For example, there are
some hog farms that provide most of what hogs need to live
a pleasant life, including a sanitary environment, protection
