I'm an Indiana resident. I'm very concerned about the growing animal abuse problems that are going around the country and in the state of Indiana. I'm an active participant in PETA and the ASPCA. It is a growing issue in the country, and there doesn't seem to be any help from the National Government.

One woman introduced the bill H.R. 4733 (111th): Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act to Congress on March 02, 2010. This bill was never passed, and in the mean time Representative Diane Watson passed on. As an unofficial summary, this bill was supposed to make it so that all animals in the consumer industry would have adequate housing, food, and treatment before being used as a product for consumption.


The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress, which serves Congress.

3/2/2010--Introduced.
Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy that the raising of livestock for food production shall be consistent with the basic principles of animal welfare. Prohibits a federal agency from purchasing any food product derived from a pig during pregnancy, a calf raised for veal, or an egg-laying hen used or intended for use in food production (covered animal) unless that animal, during the entire period covered by that definition, was provided adequate space to stand up, lie down, turn around freely, and fully extend all limbs. Exempts a covered animal: (1) during lawful transport; (2) during the slaughter of the animal in compliance with the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 and other applicable law and regulations; (3) in lawful rodeo exhibitions, state or county fair exhibitions, or other similar exhibitions; (4) in lawful scientific or agricultural research; (5) while undergoing an examination, test, treatment, or operation for individualized veterinary purposes to improve the animal's well-being; or (6) in the case of a pig during pregnancy, during the seven-day period immediately before the date the pig is expected to give birth. Provides that nothing in this Act shall modify, limit, or repeal any law or preempt any state or local law.



Clearly under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958, all animals in the agricultural and consumer industry should be slaughtered in a humane fashion, without any unnecessary abuse, neglect, and that the living conditions of all livestock should be acceptable. This section was repealed in 1978 of October yet, shouldn't the animals that we see on our plates at dinner be treated with dignity before death? Otherwise wouldn't the manufactures and consumers be just as bad as the people who watch animals bleed to death, or the troops in foreign nations who send out sheep and pigs to set off landmines?

In section 7 U.S.C.A. § 1906. Exemption of ritual slaughter which has yet to be repealed, animals can be tortured for religious purposes. Should specific religions be able to torture animals? I don't see where that is fair to the animal. Nor do I see where slaughter houses and religious practices should have the freedom to torture a living soul.

Federal health authorities have estimated that foodborne diseases sicken 76 million people, cause 325,000 hospitalizations, and kill 5,000 Americans every year4. Likewise, a number of studies have confirmed the presence of harmful bacteria in meat in the US. After collecting ground beef samples from meat processing plants around the country in 1996, the USDA determined that 7.5% of the beef samples were contaminated with Salmonella, 11.7% were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, 30% were contaminated with Staphylococcus Aureus, and 53.3% were contaminated with Clostridium perfringens5.

These unacceptable levels of contamination are caused by the filthy conditions in which conventional food animals are raised, as well as the high speed at which meat is processed. In order to maximize profits, meat processors have continually increased the speed of their production lines. Twenty years ago, meatpacking plants slaughtered about 175 cattle an hour, but, due to increased line speeds, today plants can slaughter as many as 400 cattle per hour6.


Treatment of animals is so horrific that they are getting infections and causing people to get sick and die. How could the companies not profit from taking five more minutes to feed a cow, or making sure that the animal is DEAD before putting it through a grinder. Would production slow down that much by making sure an animal is healthy before contaminating the nation's food sources? I don't think so. Slaughterhouses and meat packaging companies get sued more for sick consumers and hospital bill than it would cost to make sure their animals are healthy and raised correctly in stable conditions.

If dog and c*** fighting is illegal because it's a torture to animals, why would we let national factories treat cows, chickens, sheep, and other animals like they are worth less than the paperwork that came in with them? Not just cats and dogs are abused in the United States yet, those are the ones that are made public. Why? Is the government getting a profit from slaughterhouses? There is NO ethical reason of why the animals that feed our hungry should be treated worse than dirt.

Cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and other animals feel the same pain, fear, and suffering as your dog or cat does—but they are treated like nothing more than products. They have their beaks seared off with hot blades, and their testicles ripped out without any painkillers. They are forcibly impregnated and are hacked apart while still conscious. This kind of abuse would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims—but animals on factory farms are protected only by poorly regulated laws (or no laws at all, in the case of chickens and turkeys!).

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/issues/animals-are-not-ours-to-eat/#ixzz1zsPVP48y



How is it possible to have these types of incidents on tape and yet nothing has been done about it? How would that be considered HUMANE?

Animal testing still goes on throughout the world. That is a form of animal abuse. Ever wonder how those models get the airbrushed look? Maybe look on the internet at the bunny rabbits that have had lotion rubbed on bare skin, or eyeshadow rubbed into their eyes.

In animal testing there are all sorts of animals used, ie; guinea pigs, rats, mice, dogs, cats, sheep, and primates! Those animals get injected with things, rubbed with chemicals all over their bodies including their eyes, and often are kept in small containers with more than one animal in it.
103,764 of the animals made to feel pain were not given anything to reduce their pain and suffering. Although some of this pain was slight—like getting an injection with a needle—some of it was extremely severe.

It's not even know how many mice, rats, and birds are used in testing, the USDA doesn't keep an accurate count! Many of the animals being tested on are tested on more than once. That means that they can have huge burns, sometimes chemical, and sores all over their bodies. Not only humans have allergy reactions remember.

Think animal testing saves lives? Think again. Ninety-two percent of all drugs that are tested on animals fail once they reach human trials—meaning that these tests are ineffective at showing whether or not a drug would be safe for humans. If this is the case, why are we still neglecting, torturing, mutilating, and killing animals? Another shocking fact: Cancer was cured in the mouse more than 10 years ago … but the results weren’t applicable to humans because mice aren’t little men. Causing unnatural diseases in animals isn’t an effective way to help humans or save human lives, especially when lots of humane, non-animal methods exist.
No law prohibits any test that can be done on animals—no matter how cruel, painful, or useless. Animals are confined to cages, are denied food and water, have chemicals rubbed into their eyes and into their skin, have electrodes implanted into their brains, and are usually eventually killed and dissected. These animals come from breeding warehouses, animal shelters, and sometimes people’s backyards.



Is animal testing even necessary anymore? How long has this testing process went on? Shouldn't there be enough research to end suffering of animals? There are plenty of people in the world who would let themselves be rubbed with beauty product or injected with some crazy substance for money. The reason that companies still use animals is that the animals usually come from shelters or straight off the street and the companies do not have to pay a dime to get them like they would with an employee. However, those animals might belong to someone, a daughter, a son, an elderly old man who has no one left. Why take these animals from loving homes, even a shelter where they could find a loving home, and torture them?


I have a plan! I would like Indiana's representatives and congressmen to join with PETA and the ASPCA to help with the prevention of animal abuse. The bill proposed by Diane Watson should be represented to Congress to help all animals in captivity. Also, other animals across the United States need help. It's not just the ones that are being marked down for consumers to eat. It's all the animals that have been verbally and physically abused, for all the animals that are starved and let loose on the streets when the owners get bored with them. I want the Indiana Representatives and congressmen to take a stand and be the voice for all animals who have none. I would like to see a stop to animal abuse and testing using the voice that the representatives are supposed to allow me to have. I'm not saying stop using a slaughter house or stop using some animal research. I want the animals to have a humane death, not slitting their throats and waiting for them to bleed to death. I want them to be able to live a free life outside of a cage, with food and water.