The ASPCA® Announces Brand-New Web Content on Farm Animals

NEW YORK, September 7, 2007—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is proud to announce the launch of a new section of its Web site aimed at raising awareness about the issues that affect farm animals—www.aspca.org/farmanimals. Among other things, this new content will focus on the organization’s history of farm animal protection, what goes on at factory farms and how one can become a compassionate consumer.

With more than 500,000 unique visitors a month, the ASPCA’s Web site (www.aspca.org) has been one of the foremost sources for information regarding animal welfare since its implementation in 1997. “Pet parents and animal lovers everywhere already rely on us as a resource for up to date information on companion animals. This is a natural extension of our mission, and I am excited that we now have extremely comprehensive information available on farm animals, as well as the ASPCA’s history with them.” said ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres.

In fact, the ASPCA has worked since 1866 to stop the cruelties committed upon animals involved in the food production process. In the late 1800’s, early ASPCA agents had their hands full inspecting the city’s stockyards and slaughterhouses, while ASPCA founder Henry Bergh exhaustively pursued legislation to ensure that animals raised for human consumption were handled humanely. And earlier this year, the ASPCA announced an increase in its support of the Virginia-based non-profit organization Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), which administers the “Certified Humane Raised and Handled®” label for products made from farm animals.

As part of the organization’s new web-section on farm animals, the ASPCA offers tips on how you can help create distress-free lives for the many animals who are raised for food. Here are just a few:

• LET MONEY TALK: As a consumer, you have a great source of power in your back pocket—your wallet. You can choose to buy foods that come from small farms where animals are raised in humane conditions. Buy foods with the “Certified Humane Raised and Handled®” label. This non-profit― supported by more than 28 animal welfare organizations, including the ASPCA―works to ensure its producers raise and treat animals humanely at every point of the food production process.
• DO A LITTLE DIGGING: Doing research on your own may give you some unexpected answers. There’s an enormous amount of information on the Internet about factory farms, from videos to lists of the ill effects agribusinesses have on our health, the lives of animals and on the environment—you just need to look for it.
• JOIN THE ASPCA ADVOCACY BRIGADE: Inform your state and federal legislators that you’re disturbed by the inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms, and would like to see legislation passed ensuring that all animals raised for food spend their lives in healthy, humane conditions. You can stay up-to-date about current farm-animal legislation by joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigadel.