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Industrial farming not a benefit to the animals

The BCSPCA has a program that promotes farm animal welfare standards.
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Industrial farming not a benefit to the animals

Re: “Egg farm cleaning up after devastating fire” (Citizen Nov. 19)

The loss of 9,000 hens in a barn fire is not only a loss to the business of Farmer Ben’s Eggs, but should also stand as a grim reminder that animal farming at an industrial level rarely holds any benefits to the animals involved. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of watching chickens in a setting where they are free to act upon their natural impulses will agree they are delightful creatures. Social and full of curiosity they can keep busy all day foraging, dust bathing and vocalizing. By dusk they’re happy to return to their coop and fly up to their roosts where they spend a good amount of time shuffling about before settling down for the night.

I’m guessing that Farmer Ben’s warehoused chickens never even got to see the light of day, let alone to scratch, dust bathe or perch on roosts. Factory farmed laying hens exist for one purpose only and that is to produce eggs — more chickens, more eggs, more money. And maybe an additional result is that the consumer gets to buy cheap eggs. But there is a cost beyond the dollars, and that is the stressful and apparently perilous life of a factory farmed animal.

I wonder if you are aware that the BCSPCA has a program that promotes farm animal welfare standards. By visiting their website, you can learn about their humane farm certification program, including how to navigate misleading labels on animal products, and also how to find quality local producers. I hope everyone will consider taking the time to try to discover how we can improve the lives of all farm animals that we depend on for food.

Jacqueline Sherk

Lake Cowichan