L'article (en anglais) ci-dessous du quotidien américain USA Today
parle du développement du mouvement pour les droits des animaux aux USA.
Il évoque notamment que
:
-l'asso HSUS a maintenant 10,5 million de membres, contre 7,4 million
il y a 5 ans ; dans le même temps le nombre de membres de Peta a
doublé et atteint 1,8 million
-330 "colleges" (universités/établissements d'enseignement supérieur)
ont, depuis 3 ans, arrêté ou drastiquement réduit leur utilisation
d'oeufs de poules en batterie
-plus de 90 instituts d'enseignement en droit offrent des cours sur la
législation concernant les animaux, contre seulement quelques uns il y
a une décennie. Un professeur de droit fait le parallèle entre cet
intérêt grandissant des étudiants en droit d'aujourd'hui avec
l'explosion de l'intérêt pour le droit de l'environnement dans les
années 1970.
Une représentante de la filière viande dit que l'industrie de la
viande traite les animaux humainement, mais concède que "les gens ont
des opinions différentes quant à ce qui constitue un traitement
humain".
Une autre dénonce le fait que "A terme, leur but [des animalistes]
c'est d'éliminer l'utilisation des animaux comme nourriture" (et pas
-seulement- d'améliorer leurs conditions de vie).
-----------------------------------------
(article vu dans la lettre d'info Farmed Animal Watch)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-27-animal-activists_N.htmAnimal rights groups pick up momentum
[publié 27 Jan. 2008]
The growing influence of animal rights activists increasingly is
affecting daily life, touching everything from the foods Americans eat
to what they study in law school, where they buy their puppies and
even whether they should enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride in New
York's Central Park.
Animal activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States
and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) say they are
seeing a spike in membership as their campaigns spread.
"There's been an explosion of interest" in animal welfare issues, says
David Favre, a Michigan State University law professor and animal law
specialist. "Groups like the Humane Society of the United States and
PETA have brought to our social awareness their concerns about animals
and all matter of creatures."
"Animals are made of flesh and blood and bone just like humans," says
Bruce Friedrich, PETA's vice president for campaigns. "They feel pain
just like we do. Recognition of that grows year by year. The animal
rights movement is a social justice movement (similar to) suffrage and
civil rights."
Among other initiatives, PETA supports a measure introduced last month
by a New York City councilman that would ban carriage horses that haul
tourists around Manhattan. Many other cities feature such businesses.
"I think it's clear that animal issues are part of the public domain
like never before," says Michael Markarian, executive vice president
of the Humane Society, the largest animal welfare organization.
"People have started thinking more and more about how we treat animals
in our society."
Food producers say the activists aren't just concerned about animal
welfare but are trying to win them the same rights as human beings.
"Ultimately, their goal is to eliminate animals being used as food,"
says Kay Johnson-Smith of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, an
industry-supported organization that seeks to educate the public about
agriculture. "There's a real danger when we allow a very small
minority of activists to dictate procedures that should be used to
raise animals for food."
Animal rights campaigns are moving on several fronts:
•The Humane Society says it expects 28 state legislatures this year to
consider strengthening existing bans on dogfighting and cockfighting;
13 states are considering bills regulating "puppy mills," mass
dog-breeding operations that keep puppies in small crates.
•Massachusetts activists are collecting signatures to get a statewide
initiative on the November ballot that would ban commercial greyhound
racing by 2010. The Committee to Protect Dogs says state records show
that since 2002, 728 greyhounds have been injured racing at the
state's two tracks.
•Over the past three years, 330 colleges have stopped or dramatically
reduced the use of eggs from hens in cramped wire crates called
battery cages; retailers including Burger King, Hardee's, Carl's Jr.
and Ben & Jerry's now use eggs produced by cage-free hens, Markarian
says.
•More than 90 American Bar Association-approved law schools now offer
courses in animal law, compared with only a handful 10 years ago.
Favre compares the growing interest in animal law among incoming law
students to an explosion of interest in environmental law in the
1970s.
Monastery under fire
When it comes to food production and animal rights activists, even
monks don't get a pass. After months of protests by PETA, the monks at
Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Moncks Corner, S.C., announced
last month that they were giving up the egg production business that
had sustained them for nearly 50 years.
The monks were targeted because their chickens were kept in battery
cages, the nation's most common method of egg-farming but a practice
many animal rights advocates consider cruel.
Father Stan Gumula, abbot of Mepkin Abbey, said the monks were
reluctant to give up the egg business. "The pressure from PETA has
made it difficult for (the monks) to live their quiet life of prayer,
work and sacred reading," he said.
David Martosko, director of research for the Center for Consumer
Freedom, an organization supported by restaurants and food companies,
says most Americans oppose cruelty to animals. But he says that
activists who say animals shouldn't be eaten or used for medical
research or any other purpose won't find much mainstream support.
"That is a position that very few Americans agree with," he says.
Martosko also says abandoning some current agricultural practices will
drive up food prices. According to the American Farm Bureau
Federation, a dozen regular eggs cost $1.56 in mid-2007, compared with
$2.89 for cage-free eggs.
Pivotal events unfolded
Animal welfare organizations are riding a wave of popularity. The
Humane Society says it has 10.5 million members or supporters, up from
7.4 million five years ago; during the same period, PETA says its
rolls have doubled to 1.8 million. The groups attribute intensified
public interest partly to three recent events that highlighted the
vulnerability of animals:
•New Orleans residents forced to leave pets to die in 2005 when they
were evacuated during Hurricane Katrina.
•The recall last year of 60 million containers of pet food after an
unknown number of cats and dogs were poisoned, raising questions about
pet-food safety.
•The conviction last year of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick
for dogfighting.
"Those were major events that made people realize we have so much
power over animals," says Markarian of the Humane Society. "We can use
that power to be cruel and indifferent, or to be kind and careful
stewards."
Johnson-Smith of the Animal Agriculture Alliance says current farming
practices have "a scientific basis" and "have been supported by the
animal science, research and veterinarian communities."
Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs for the American
Meat Institute, whose members produce about 95% of the beef, pork,
lamb, veal and turkey consumed in the USA, says the industry is
diligent in handling animals humanely. But, she adds, "people have
different opinions about what constitutes humane handling."
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