Mad Cow Disease Appears in California

Potentially bad news for California Agriculture. Read the full story here at the LA Times.

The reemergence of mad cow disease, discovered in a California dairy cow, could have major implications for the state’s meat industry, even though officials have said that the human food supply is unaffected. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy hasn’t been found in U.S. since 2006 and was discovered in only three instances before then. But the disease has dealt a crippling blow to the industry in the past, especially when foreign countries refused to import American beef when mad cow was first uncovered in 2003. The U.S. Department of Agriculturetests about 40,000 cows a year in its effort to catch the disease. In California, private and public ranching takes up about 38 million acres, according to the California Cattlemen’s Assn. There are about 620,000 beef cows on 11,800 California ranches. The state also hosts 1.84 million dairy cows, according to information compiled by the California Beef Council. The sale of cattle and calves was a $1.82-billion industry in California 2008 and fifth among the state’s top 20 commodities. Beef cattle are raised in nearly every California county. Nationally, California ranks behind Texas, Kansas and Nebraska in total cattle numbers.

"Happy Cows" Campaign in California Under Fire

California dairy farmers have an ad campaign that cows are just darn happy on their factory farms. PETA is not convinced.

This article about the situation appears in the Merced Sun-Star which is from my home county of Merced!

Terrible News. US Supreme Court Strikes Down California "Downer Cow" Law

Clearly a win for the damn livestock industry. It was a question of federal vs. state authority. Sucks. And it was a unanimous decision.

Read the full story at CNN....

A state law mandating "humane treatment" of downed livestock headed for the slaughterhouse was unanimously overturned Monday by the Supreme Court.

At issue was whether federal regulations dealing with inspection of domesticated animals about to be killed, processed, and sold for human consumption preempted -- or nullified -- California Penal Code 599f.

Several justices had earlier noted the good intentions behind the state action, but all now agreed that it went too far into the traditional federal arena.

U.S. Supreme Court rules on health care challenge| GPS tracking

"The Federal Meat Inspection Act regulates slaughterhouses' handling and treatment of non-ambulatory pigs from the moment of their delivery through the end of the meat production process," wrote Justice Elena Kagan. "California's (law) endeavors to regulate the same thing, at the same time, in the same place -- except by imposing different requirements. The FMIA expressly preempts such a state law."

Beef Farm's Trucks Burned by Activists

I don't support the destruction of property or any physical threats against people who harm animals whether through medical testing or through conventional agriculture. It does nothing but make the targets more wedded to their positions and it garners sympathy from the general public. And, this happened in Fresno County which is in the San Joaquin Valley of California. I grew up there. Believe me, they are NOT helping their cause at all.

Full story here at the Fresno Bee.....

Animal rights activists are behind the burning of cattle trucks at Harris Farms in western Fresno County early Sunday, according to a statement released by a clearinghouse for activists.

The statement purports to describe how the fire, which heavily damaged 14 tractors and several cattle-hauling trailers, was set and says the attack was aimed at "the horrors of factory farming."

Harris Farms CEO and Chairman John Harris said in an email Tuesday that he and others with the ranch are "appalled by this senseless, but very alarming attack." He called it a terrorist action.

"I had suspected Animal Liberation Front may have been involved and now they are in fact claiming responsibility for it with multiple details," Harris wrote.

The clearinghouse that distributed the statement claiming credit for the arson is the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which says it has no direct dealings with underground groups or illegal activity.

Suit Filed Over Cows Killed to Drive Up Milk Prices

If the dairy companies were doing this, well, that's cold!

Excerpted from the Seattle P-I....

A Seattle law firm is taking on dairies, claiming that a price-fixing scheme has consumers paying too much for milk.

The class-action lawsuit accuses companies of slaughtering thousands of cows just to decrease supply.

Animal rights group Compassion Over Killing was the first to uncover the alleged systematic slaughter of healthy dairy cows in California. The group turned to Seattle attorney Steve Berman, who filed the suit claiming more than half a million U.S. dairy cows were slaughtered over seven years to artificially reduce the supply of milk and drive up prices.

"The cooperatives got together and instituted what we'll call a killing program; they retired cows," he said. Berman said the milk producers called it "dairy herd retirement", but he insists it was a way to cheat consumers and line their own pockets.

"Using their own numbers, we calculated conservatively that (they) raised the price of milk over a seven-year period by $10 billion," Berman said.

Berman said all milk products - everything from cheese to butter - got more expensive. His firm sued Cooperatives Working Together, its members are dairy companies and trade groups.

Dutch May Ban Kosher Slaughter of Livestock

It could have a snowball effect for other countries in Europe, although probably it certainly won't be seen as politically correct.

Excerpted from the Irish Times....

THE DUTCH parliament has voted overwhelmingly to ban the ritual slaughter of livestock. This could halt production of kosher and halal meat in the Netherlands – and lead to similar campaigns in other European countries.

However, Jewish and Islamic groups which can prove animals do not suffer more during ritual killing than in an ordinary slaughterhouse will be able to apply for permits.

In a move aimed at further defusing the controversy over the proposed ban, deputy prime minister Maxime Verhagen gave an undertaking no new legislation would be signed into law until approved by the senate. Dutch law requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, but has long allowed an exemption for Muslims and orthodox Jews, who can legally butcher animals according to their centuries-old dietary rules

Ohio to Phase Out Veal Crates

Good news....although there had to be pressure exerted from advocates.

From the Farm Sanctuary...

Despite last year’s agreement with agribusiness interests in Ohio to ban and phase out certain cruel factory farming practices, the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (OLCSB) voted in favor of veal crate confinement. The board was supposed to end this inhumane practice in Ohio for good; however, during a March 1 meeting, they voted to remove the provision requiring that calves have enough room to move, proposing to allow their confinement in tiny crates for the first 10 weeks of their lives and violating the agreement.

But while the OLCSB tried to go back on their word, animal advocates across the state banded together to say, “no way!” United against cruelty, we joined together to let the OLCSB know that all calves, regardless of their age, deserve the right to turn around and lie down comfortably. With more than 4,000 public comments decrying the board’s decision, and more than 100 advocates showing up at the next meeting, the board was compelled to reconsider.

Today, we are happy to report that, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Farm Sanctuary members like you, on April 5, the OLCSB voted unanimously to reverse their decision, and to phase out the use of veal crates in Ohio. This couldn’t have been done without you. Together, we are making a difference!

Animals as Inputs in Accounting

I'm studying for the CPA exam and am working through Becker's online course review for the business section. Here's an example of "joint costs" that says all you need to know about animals as nothing more than inputs in a manufacturing process.

"The meat packing industry takes a single input, a steer, and produces many different final products. Each product must be assigned a cost including the different cuts of meat for human consumption, different food products for animal consumption (pet food) and basic ingredients for glue."

Australian Animal Rights Campaign to Help Calves

Here's the full article from the Weekly Times Now...

ANIMAL rights groups have begun a campaign against the dairy industry's treatment of bobby calves.

Australian Dairy Farmers says calves can be left unfed for 30 hours before slaughter but the RSPCA says the practice is "cruel".

Animals Australia has a video on its website showing calves being roughly dragged off utes and thrown to the ground.

RSPCA scientific officer (farm animals) Melina Tensen said there had been no independently funded research into the effects of leaving calves unfed for 30 hours. Dairy Australia commissioned a blood-test study which showed that calves deteriorated after 24 hours off feed, she said.

The study showed a limit of 24 hours without food "would be better", she said.

Australian Dairy Farmers animal health and welfare chairman David Basham, said studies had shown "no adverse affects on welfare up to 30 hours".

However, he said some practices shown in the Animals Australia video were not condoned by the industry, "dragging them off trucks and things like that".

Humans Not Natural Milk Drinkers

I've heard this before, but it's fascinating every time it comes up.

There is such a push in society to drink milk for calcium for strong bones. But really, it's not natural for us to be drinking milk past infancy. It's the perfect example of a market being created out of nothing. Of misinformation that is repeated so often it becomes fact. If you really think about it, how many prehistoric people were grabbing pregnant cows to suckle on?

Lactose intolerant people are actually the normal ones.

More on the Cow that Escaped from a NY Slaughterhouse

Molly the cow escaped from a Queens slaughterhouse has been sent to a sanctuary in Long Island. And, now she has a new boyfriend names Wexley(story complete with hot cow smooching picture).

Escaped Cow Goes to Sanctuary

A cow that escaped from a slaughter house in NY City has been allowed to go to an animal sanctuary.

India's Cows Contributing to Global Warming?

It's been a while since we've posted about Mr. Barky's favorite subject....Cows With Gas! This time, in India!

By burping, belching and excreting copious amounts of methane — a greenhouse gas that traps 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide — India's livestock of roughly 485 million (including sheep and goats) contribute more to global warming than the vehicles they obstruct. With new research suggesting that emission of methane by Indian livestock is higher than previously estimated, scientists are furiously working at designing diets to help bovines and other ruminants eat better, stay more energetic and secrete lesser amounts of the offensive gas.

Modern Day Cattle Rustlers

Here is an interesting article about cattle rustling.

Crashing through a gate in the dead of night, thieves using trucks and trailers recently robbed a farmer here of 53 Brahman crossbreed cows valued at some $50,000.

Known for a distinctive hump at the base of the neck, Brahman cattle are rare here and would be easily spotted at a local auction, leading investigators to think the rustlers already had a buyer — or a butcher — lined up.

Mmmm Cow Urine!

You'll have to go to India for this one.

A new soft drink made from cow's urine may be launched in India by a hard line Hindu group known for their opposition of Western food imports.

The manufacturers say small quantities of the liquid produced by Hinduism's revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases.

Revered or not, that's pretty nasty.

Study Claims Islamic Slaughtering More Humane

I came across this strange article about German research on which slaughter method creates more pain for the animal: the Western method of stunning or the Islamic method of a cut to the neck. According to the researchers, the Islamic method wins. You can read all about the results in the article.

What an utterly grotesque project.

The Islamic practice of slaughtering animals by means of a sharp cut to the front of the neck has frequently come under attack by some animal rights activists as being a form of animal cruelty, the claim being that it is a painful inhumane method of killing animals. In the West, it is required by law to stun the animals with a shot to the head before the slaughter, supposedly to render the animal unconscious and to prevent it from reviving before it is killed so as not to slow down the movement of the processing line. It is also used to prevent the animal from feeling pain before it dies.

It therefore may come as a surprise to those who have made such acclamations to learn of the results of a study carried out by Professor Wilhelm Schulze and his colleague Dr. Hazim at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover University in Germany. The study: 'Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional (captive bolt pistol stunning) and Ritual (halal, knife) Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves' concludes that Islamic slaughtering is the most humane method of slaughter and that captive bolt stunning, practised in the West, causes severe pain to the animal.

Agriculture Fears Possible "Cow Tax"

I don't know how seriously to take this, or if it's just the ag industry pulling an NRA stunt (ie. knee-jerk reaction to anything and everything.)

{There was} a proposal Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 by the Environmental Protection Agency to charge a fee for air-polluting cows and hogs. The proposal was one of several drafted after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling found that greenhouse gases the animals emit through flatulence or belching amounts to air pollution. It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.

The ag industry really fears that the government may start taxing them for heads of livestock because of their contribution to global warming. (Remember cows "emit" methane.) I have a hard time believing that there would actually be a cow tax, but I would certainly support it. This country needs to eat less meat. Besides, if you can't compete, get out of the business.

The ag industry wants no government involvement when it comes to taxes and fees, but how about when it comes to subsidies from that same government to keep them afloat? Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Wall Street, Detroit, and agriculture....what ever happened to the "free hand of the market?"

Message to Cows: Eat More Nuts!

We here at Critter News follow developments regarding the methane-cow emission connection closely. The latest is that belching cows should eat more nuts!

The cast offs from snacking on cashews may help fight global warming caused by animals that belch methane.

Tests in Japan have show that oil produced from the shell of the cashew nut may slash by 90 percent the methane emissions from belching cattle when mixed as an additive to feed, a spokesman for oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co said on Wednesday.

The firm's research division is working with Hokkaido University on Japan's northernmost island, on the project, with the aim of launching sales within four years, the spokesman said.

I can only imagine the experiments conducted in this research study!

Estonians Tax Cow Farts

I wasn't expecting to write a headline like that when I got up this morning, but there you go. The Estonians are taxing cow farts. From RIA Novosti:

Estonian farmers have received tax notices for methane emissions from their cattle, the country's opposition party, the People's Union of Estonia, said on Thursday.

Ruminants produce large quantities of methane gas through belching and flatulence when they digest grass, which accounts for about 15-25% of overall gas emissions, according to different estimates.

A single cow produces on average 350 liters of methane and 1,500 liters of carbon dioxide per day.

Aussies Resume Live Cattle Exports to Egypt

Australia will again be exporting live cattle to Egypt. Shipments were halted recently due to allegations of animal cruelty.

Agriculture Minister Tony Burke, who planned to announce the agreement later Friday, told Fairfax newspapers that resumption of exports will be subject to strict conditions, including the cattle being handled according to international standards and slaughtered only at a new "high-quality" facility.

Exports were halted abruptly in 2006 after the previous government reacted to a television documentary showing cattle having their tendons slashed and their eyes poked out by Egyptian cattlemen.