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In the last issue of PoultryPress (
Fall/Winter 1998), we
noted that the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
voted at its November meeting whether to revise its endorsement
of forced molting to a position of opposition. At press we were
waiting for the results. (US egg producers starve their hens for
an average of 10 days and as long as 14 days straight to
manipulate egg production and market prices.) The vote was a
response to the campaign being waged by United Poultry Concerns
(UPC) and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
(AVAR) to ban forced molting. The US egg industry uses the AVMA's
endorsement of forced molting as an argument to justify and
continue the practice.
Despite a powerful presentation at the November meeting by
UPC member and AVAR board member Holly Cheever, DVM, the AVMA
voted to keep its endorsement while advocating additional
research on how to improve the "welfare" aspects of forced
molting. Forced molting experiments have been conducted in the US
and worldwide for decades--at least since the turn of the
century. The AVMA vote means the experiments (including the
administration of toxic levels of zinc) will not only continue
but, if anything, increase. It means that countless millions of
hens in US commercial egg production will continue to be starved
with the blessing and assistance of the animals' "healing"
profession.
The AVMA's support for the starvation of hens used for egg
production is not only unconscionable; it is inconsistent. It is
inconsistent on the animal welfare level because forced molting
puts many more birds in a more prolonged state of continuous
suffering than does cockfighting, which the AVMA condemns.
(Cockfighters do not use veterinarians whereas many veterinary
careers are made by the poultry & egg industry.)
Secondly, the AVMA's endorsement of forced molting flies in
the face of its December 15, 1998 report in the Journal of the
American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), which noted that
"Eggs are the predominant source of Salmonella Enteritidis
infections in humans," and many of the egg-associated Salmonella
outbreaks in the US have been "traced back to the farm of origin
and have documentation that infected hens were the source of the
outbreak.* The JAVMA concluded that "control of Salmonella
Enteritidis will require preventing infections in egg-laying and
broiler chickens."* This should be a call upon the US egg
industry to eliminate forced molting, which has been identified
as a major cause of Salmonella Enteritidis in the hens and their
eggs.
*UPC editorial underlining
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Continued pressure on the AVMA is needed. Urge the AVMA to
oppose forced molting. If the AVMA opposes abusing a
comparatively small number of birds for entertainment
(cockfighting), it should vigorously oppose abusing hundreds of
millions of birds for money, and with far greater health risks.
Request a written reply. Contact:
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American Veterinary Medical Association
Attn: Dr. David Granstrom
1931 N Meacham Rd, Suite 100
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173 |
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