The Battle Over Battery Hens
Around the World . . .
Keep Forced Molting Out of Canada
Until now, forced molting--the deliberate starvation method used in the US to recycle flocks of hens used for egg production rather than replace them--has seldom been used in Canada, because the quota system in Canada has made it uneconomical to keep hens for a second year. However, the quota system may soon be dropped under the NAFTA Agreement. As a result, Canadian egg producers have been doing experimental molting to see how it pays off. A recent issue of the Ontario Farmer said the Ontario Egg Board is "looking at using moulted flocks to provide more eggs." In Canada as in the US, there are no laws to protect farmed animals. There are only voluntary codes of practice with no penalties for infractions.
- Write letters to the editor of your newspaper protesting
bringing forced molting to Canada. Virtually every issue of
PoultryPress beginning with the Summer 1997 issue has an article
about forced molting. For our 16-page report (the basis of our
petition to the US Food & Drug Administration to ban forced
molting in the US), please visit our website.
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Let government officials know you don't want forced molting in
Canada. Contact:
Lyle Vanclief, Minister
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6