Treatment of Animals Flashcards
What are some of the standard, legal practices in animal agrictulure?
-Cutting off tails
-Forcibly impregnating
-Taking babies from mothers
-Locking in cages where they can’t turn around
-Cutting throats or forcing into gas chambers
What % of chickens are caged, globally?
About 60%
How many eggs per year does today’s chicken lay?
Around 300 per year
Milk yield from dairy cows has increased by how much in the US since 1990?
-Nearly doubled
Source: According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 1990, the average milk yield per cow was around 16,000 pounds per year. By 2020, the average milk yield per cow had increased to around 24,000 pounds per year.
How many pigs are estimated to be killed globally each year?
Around 1.5 billion
How many eggs does the ancestor of commercial chickens produce per year?
The red jungle fowl lays 10-15 eggs per year, compared to today’s chickens producing around 300/year. In the early 1900s, chickens produced 100 eggs per year.
Describe some of the health implications chickens face today due to increased egg production.
Osteoporosis: Estimated 80-89% of commercial hens suffer
Reproductive problems: Such as prolapse, inflammation and tumors in the reproductive tracts
Longevity: Commercial hens never live more than approximately 3 years, compared to their natural lifespan of 5-8 (but up to 30) years
What does it mean to be sentient?
Sentience refers to the ability to have positive and negative experiences caused by external affectations to our body or to sensations within our body. Experience (as opposed to physiological responses to stimuli) being the key word.
