“Red Tractor’s problem is they don’t do enough unannounced inspections.”. If all farm animals in the world were treated according to your current standards, would you then ‘raise the bar’ requiring additional measures and higher standards be met. RSPCA Assured gave an unsatisfactory public response. Meanwhile, since the Hogwood investigation concluded, Viva! “They defended themselves in the media,” says Sneddon. Understanding animal welfare claims", "Foster Farms certified as humane producer", "Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg", "Top Animal Welfare Expert To Lead America's Largest And Fastest-Growing Farm Animal Protection Program", "The Happy Egg Co Receives AHA Certification", "American Humane Association: Humane Certification Of U.S. Farm Animals Skyrocketing", "American Humane Association Slammed For Awarding "Humane" Certification To Slaughterhouse Caught On Video Torturing Animals", "American Humane Certified™ Producer Spotlight: Butterball", http://greenerchoices.org/2017/01/11/american-humane-certified/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Humane_Certified&oldid=919465138, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 October 2019, at 21:31. After Viva! Wardle believes that Red Tractor’s inspectors, like Blowey, don’t notice welfare abuses because those conditions—including cannibalism—appear normal to them. She lives in Oxford, UK, where she moonlights delivering organic veg boxes on a cargo bike. And then there's the Humane Society approach. Of all the chilling scenes featured in the new documentary Hogwood: A Modern Horror Story by UK vegan charity Viva!, one keeps haunting me. For example, Animal Welfare Approved does not allow debeaking, but considers castration and ear notching without pain relief “humane.” On the other hand, American Humane Certified permits debeaking, but does not allow ear notching and requires anesthesia for castration of some animals. For example, minimum space requirements are sometimes greater than the industry norm, but do not always allow for freedom of movement. American Humane (AH) is an organization founded in 1877, committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals.It was previously called the International Humane Association, before changing its name in 1878. But what does being “certified humane” even mean? [21], According to Consumer Reports, "while the American Humane Association says its standards aim to ensure the humane treatment and improve the welfare of farm animals, the requirements fall short in meeting consumer expectations for a “humane” label in many ways. [9] These criteria are rooted in the "five freedoms" that are used to evaluate animal welfare in the UK. has uncovered abusive practices at two further Red Tractor-approved farms. It’s a bit like having your health monitored by Procter & Gamble.”. The organization has acted much more swiftly this time round, quickly suspending certification for the farms while it carries out its own investigation. Certified Humane. “To them, that’s how farms work.” Dr. Alice Brough, a former industry vet, also claims in the documentary that vets are paid for their opinions by the farmers, and farmers can simply choose vets who give favorable assessments. If you’re in the U.S. you may recognize labels from schemes like Certified Humane, Animal Welfare Approved, and American Humane Certified, which have varying welfare standards that their farms are supposed to uphold. The footage included workers treating the chickens violently and inhumane slaughter methods; this resulted in Mercy for Animals calling the program "a scam". Between 2017 and 2019, Viva! [4], In order to receive the American Humane Certified logo, farms must pass an assessment based on a list of over 200 standards. In addition to Red Tractor, the UK has RSPCA Assured, a farm assurance scheme run by the country’s biggest animal protection charity, Lion Eggs, Quality Meat Scotland, and several others—between them, covering the production as well as the processing and packing of farmed animals, including fish. [15] Other producers include The Happy Egg Company,[16] Foster Farms,[17] and Clover Organic Farms. RSPCA Assured certifies 150 (around 70 percent) of the open-water salmon farms in Scotland. [8], The American Humane Association standards specify that animals must be raised in an environment that limits stress, includes the provision of fresh water, a healthy diet, sufficient space, proper facilities, shelter, and a resting area. I assume you mean the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). “It doesn’t seem to me they have any independent experts,” says Dr. Lynne Sneddon, who is an expert in fish welfare and Director of Bioveterinary Science at the University of Liverpool. Most Americans think that a “humane” label should mean that the animals had adequate living space (86%), went outdoors (78%) and were raised without cages (66%). American Humane doesn’t believe pasture time is essential to animal welfare. “It’s administered by farmers through the National Farmers Union. AH is the bottom of the barrel. While the American Humane Association says its standards aim to ensure the humane treatment and improve the welfare of farm animals, the requirements fall short in meeting consumer expectations for a “humane… Certified Humane. Fixing farm assurance schemes means giving the animals the life that they simply can’t have on a factory farm. [2], The purpose of the American Humane Certified program is to give consumers access to humanely-raised food choices. The program was launched in 2000. [18], Consumer support for humanely raised food has increased since the start of the program. [12], In 2014, the American Humane Association announced that it had certified one billion animals on more than 8,000 farms. “I would like to see one or two independent experts who are not involved in the industry who have scientific expertise in the area to help drive forward these welfare issues.”, Activists don’t necessarily target farms that belong to specific schemes, as these operations don’t typically provide a public list of the farms they certify. If you're a lifelong advocate or new to the cause, this is the newsletter for you. It never audits the slaughterhouses that process its animals and it places no limits on how far animals can be transported (a terrifying experience for all farm animals). The documentary is not about poor conditions on a single farm, but how such conditions are rife in the meat industry. The purpose of the American Humane Certified program is to give consumers access to humanely-raised food choices. [5] The standards are unique for each farm animal species. [1] The program was launched in 2000. “What they said is, it’s better for them to be involved with the industry because they’re pushing for better welfare…I’d like them to review any treatments that could potentially be painful to salmon and deal more directly with particular issues when they arise.” Campaigners from groups like Scottish Salmon Watch have found RSPCA Assured to be similarly vague when responding to specific welfare and mortality issues. “They always say, ‘We’ve inspected the farms and found nothing wrong,’” says Wardle. These schemes promise high animal welfare standards and environmental protections and began appearing globally in the past couple of decades as a result of higher levels of public concern over health and welfare issues related to farmed meat. [13] 90 percent of cage-free eggs sold in the US have been certified by the American Humane Association. Claire writes on animals, environment, and climate. Last year, Hogwood was finally dropped by Red Tractor, the UK’s biggest farm assurance scheme. Sneddon recently asked RSPCA Assured and the Scottish Government why they were allowing the use of thermolicers—mechanisms for administering a hot water treatment to remove sea lice from farmed salmon—when the heat is painful for the fish and results in high mortality, in breach of the Animal Welfare Act and RSPCA Assured’s commitment to ensure farmed animals are free from pain. “Assurance schemes are good in that they ensure the farms are visited,” says Phil Brooke, Research and Education Manager at Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). Red Tractor’s apparent lack of independence is an issue that appears to exist in other schemes, too. It isn’t the scene of a pig on Hogwood Farm being cannibalized by pen mates while still alive, nor the ones of dead animals left to rot in cages and barns (though those give me nightmares too).

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