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Will NJ Governor Veto Gestation Crate Ban?

November 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has until early December to sign or veto a bill banning gestation crates, the small metal cages that intensely confine female breeding pigs for most of their adult lives. He vetoed a similar bill in 2013, claiming that pig farmers made a more persuasive argument than the activists.

gestation crates factory farm

Even though the current bill was passed in the House and Senate and has the support of 93% of NJ residents, Christie has suggested to Iowa farmers that he intends to veto it. Iowa, a key state in the race for President, is the nation’s biggest pork producer.

In an editorial on November 21st. the Asbury Park Press, a local NJ newspaper, wrote, “If he vetoes the ban, he’s a lost cause. We can then be certain that from here forward everything Christie does as governor will be based on how it will influence his presidential campaign.”

Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, catapulted Christie’s political dilemma into the national spotlight in a comical eight minute segment with a very strong anti-gestation crate point of view:

https://youtu.be/9fV1b5vHH80

In late October, Jane Velez-Mitchell spoke to a panel of guests about gestation crates. During the interview, HSUS Public Policy Manager Matthew Dominguez said that the political landscape has changed since 2013 and that Iowa voters support a ban on gestation crates.

If Christie does, in fact, veto the gestation crate bill – for a second time – he will assuredly become a target of the animal rights community.

Chris Christie (Photo: Lee Day)

Chris Christie (Photo: Lee Day)

Gestation crates are being phased out in several states and by several pork producers at the request of their customers, including major corporations like McDonalds. However, far more work needs to be done to eliminate these crates in the U.S. and worldwide.

Your Turn

Please take the following steps to convince Chris Christie to sign the bill banning gestation crates in New Jersey:
1. Call the Governor’s office 609-292-6000
2. Tweet  Governor Christie (@GovChristie) in support of the bill and use the hashtag #signS998
3. Sign the Change.org petition

Filed under: Food
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Australia Considers Ag Gag Legislation after Undercover Investigations

May 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

Undercover investigations by animal rights activists in Australia have triggered the Australian pig industry to lobby for protections similar to “ag gag” laws in the U.S. that criminalize the taking of footage which has led to reform. In an interview on Australian TV, the head of Australia’s pork trade group, Andrew Spencer, answers pointed questions about what the industry has to hide. During the interview, Mr. Spencer acknowledges that the industry is phasing out gestation crates but will not attribute that change to the work of activists.

Screen Shot 2014-05-30 at , May 30, @ 3.41.15 PM

TV Interview with Head of Australian Pork Trade Association

News & Opinion

Factory farms are concentration camps for animals. To protect the bottom line, the animal agriculture industry is taking more aggressive steps to keep the public in the dark about how the animals are treated — confinement, mutilation, deprivation, physical abuse. To learn more about “ag gag” laws in the United States, please visit Farm Sanctuary. And, if you haven’t already, adopt a plant-based diet.


Filed under: Food, Investigations
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NJ Governor Chris Christie Defends His Veto of Gestation Crate Ban

April 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

In a town hall meeting, a NJ resident asked Governor Chris Christie to reconsider his veto of a bill that would have banned gestation crates, the small cages in which female pigs are confined on factory farms. In response, he said that the pig farmers made a more persuasive argument than “animal cruelty activists.” In response to the veto, lifestyle maven Martha Stewart sent a letter to NJ lawmakers asking them to override it and added, “These animals have committed no crime, yet they’re treated worse than even the most violent criminals would be treated.”

NJ Governor Chris Christie

NJ Governor Chris Christie

News & Opinion

Chris Christie, who is accused of creating traffic jams in Fort Lee NJ to punish the local Mayor, was once considered the Republican frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race. His decision to veto the gestation crate bill, which was passed by the NJ state legislature, was clearly political — he didn’t want to alienate Iowa, a pork producing state. Several states have already banned gestation crates and other forms of cruel confinement due in part to undercover footage taken by Mercy For Animals and other animal rights groups. To find out how you can help, please visit F.A.R.M. (Farm Animal Rights Movement).


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NY Times Denounces Factory Farming

February 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

In a NY Times op-ed column about HSUS’ undercover video exposing cannibalism at a Kentucky pig operation, Nicholas Kristof says that “modern factory farms have so much wrong with them,” using gestation crates as an example: “Nine out of 10 sows in America are kept in gestation crates, according to the National Pork Producers Council. These are tiny stalls that are barely bigger than the pigs, who don’t even have enough room to turn around. They live out their adult lives without exercise or meaningful social interaction; it’s like a life sentence of solitary confinement in a coffin, punctuated by artificial insemination and birth. No wonder the animals’ muscles atrophy and they show signs of aggression and stress.”

gestation crate

Gestation crates

News & Opinion

Given the sheer number of animals “raised” in factory farms and slaughtered for food, the best way we can help the largest number of animals is to convince consumers to eliminate or phase out their consumption of animal protein – for their health, for the environment and for the animals. “Starter Guides” from the organization Vegan Outreach are one of many tools available to us.


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