Whenever they have flagged these issues with Red Tractor, the response has been dismissive. conducted four investigations into Hogwood Farm in Warwickshire, UK, exposing horrific abuse and neglect of pigs. “They defended themselves in the media,” says Sneddon. has uncovered abusive practices at two further Red Tractor-approved farms. But with 46,000 British farms boasting the Red Tractor logo, stumbling onto a Red Tractor farm is not difficult. RSPCA Assured gave an unsatisfactory public response. And are these schemes doing enough to address problems when they are shown evidence that one of their farms is failing to meet welfare standards? [12], In 2014, the American Humane Association announced that it had certified one billion animals on more than 8,000 farms. Now the AHA, through its American Humane Certified program, also referred to as Humane Heartland, is awarding meat producers such as Butterball with “American Humane Certified” labels and helping the companies trick consumers about the abuse the animals are allowed to endure. Products bearing the Red Tractor logo are supposed to give people confidence that the food is certifiably British and, as Red Tractor says on its website, “has been produced safely for human consumption, been responsibly sourced and that the crops and animals have been well cared for.” The Hogwood documentary, presented by Game of Thrones actor Jerome Flynn, is an account of how the Red Tractor and supermarket chain, Tesco, which stocked Hogwood’s meat, failed for years to act on the evidence. It’s a bit like having your health monitored by Procter & Gamble.”. RSPCA Assured, for example, aims to do unannounced visits on around 30 percent of its 3,700 certified members. If you’re in the U.S. you may recognize labels from schemes like Certified Humane, Animal Welfare Approved, and American Humane Certified, which have varying welfare standards that their farms are supposed to uphold. If you’re in the U.S. you may recognize labels from schemes like Certified Humane, Animal Welfare Approved, and American Humane Certified, which have varying welfare standards that their farms are supposed to uphold. [11], The standards are regularly reviewed by a scientific advisory committee. Farm assurance schemes don’t just come down to whether or not the farmer is given advanced warning of inspection; it also matters who is doing the inspecting. If all farm animals in the world were treated according to your current standards, would you then ‘raise the bar’ requiring additional measures and higher standards be met. [10], The certification is not granted to farmers who use growth hormones. “It’s administered by farmers through the National Farmers Union. The American Humane Certified program reflects "a common-sense way to do things," Brock says. In one recent case RSPCA Assured did respond more directly to footage obtained by activists of poor conditions at a supposedly free-range chicken farm. “They never say, ‘We’re very concerned about this, come in and talk to us.’”, The way some schemes deal with complaints against particular farms or particular practices they employ also lacks transparency. [6], The American Humane Association uses independent firms to perform annual audits on certified farms in order to ensure they are complying with the guidelines. Sneddon recently asked RSPCA Assured and the Scottish Government why they were allowing the use of thermolicers—mechanisms for administering a hot water treatment to remove sea lice from farmed salmon—when the heat is painful for the fish and results in high mortality, in breach of the Animal Welfare Act and RSPCA Assured’s commitment to ensure farmed animals are free from pain. “If they admit there’s a problem, they’re in trouble,” says Wardle. I assume you mean the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). After Viva! The American Humane Certified standards do not always assure consumers that these basic requirements were met. The American Humane Certified program is the nation's first independent, third-party certification program to verify the humane treatment of farm animals. [9] These criteria are rooted in the "five freedoms" that are used to evaluate animal welfare in the UK. But what does being “certified humane” even mean? The purpose of the American Humane Certified program is to give consumers access to humanely-raised food choices. [21], According to Consumer Reports, "while the American Humane Association says its standards aim to ensure the humane treatment and improve the welfare of farm animals, the requirements fall short in meeting consumer expectations for a “humane” label in many ways. It never audits the slaughterhouses that process its animals and it places no limits on how far animals can be transported (a terrifying experience for all farm animals). [15] Other producers include The Happy Egg Company,[16] Foster Farms,[17] and Clover Organic Farms. Meanwhile, since the Hogwood investigation concluded, Viva! Activists have uncovered several alleged breaches of these “humane” standards at farms in the U.S. too. “Red Tractor’s problem is they don’t do enough unannounced inspections.”. Hogwood is also a reminder that the promises of farm assurance schemes should not be taken at face value by customers. “I would like to see one or two independent experts who are not involved in the industry who have scientific expertise in the area to help drive forward these welfare issues.”, Activists don’t necessarily target farms that belong to specific schemes, as these operations don’t typically provide a public list of the farms they certify. For beef cattle and dairy cows, grazing on pasture is not required and feedlots are allowed. [2], The purpose of the American Humane Certified program is to give consumers access to humanely-raised food choices. The American Humane Certified label is somewhat meaningful and verified. According to an article in Farmers Weekly, Red Tractor claims this is because “there are significant practical issues associated with turning up to a farm unannounced—ranging from simple access to the farm and the farmer/farm manager not being available, to health and safety and biosecurity concerns.” Yet, many other schemes carry out higher numbers of unannounced inspections on top of scheduled ones. The Humane Society is a national animal welfare group worth about 129 million dollars in revenue, with about a 215 million dollars of net assets. Animals such as chickens, pigs and turkeys can be continually confined indoors; female pigs with their newborn piglets can even be confined in barren crates that do not allow the mother pig to turn around, much less engage in natural and instinctive nesting behaviors. The program was launched in 2000. While Red Tractor introduced a new risk-based inspection regime in 2018 to increase unannounced inspections of farms that have been flagged as a “reputational risk,” its inspectors typically don’t do many unscheduled visits on its thousands of certified farms. says it has uncovered breaches of Red Tractor’s minimal animal welfare standards on every farm it has investigated. [8], The American Humane Association standards specify that animals must be raised in an environment that limits stress, includes the provision of fresh water, a healthy diet, sufficient space, proper facilities, shelter, and a resting area. Understanding animal welfare claims", "Foster Farms certified as humane producer", "Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg", "Top Animal Welfare Expert To Lead America's Largest And Fastest-Growing Farm Animal Protection Program", "The Happy Egg Co Receives AHA Certification", "American Humane Association: Humane Certification Of U.S. Farm Animals Skyrocketing", "American Humane Association Slammed For Awarding "Humane" Certification To Slaughterhouse Caught On Video Torturing Animals", "American Humane Certified™ Producer Spotlight: Butterball", http://greenerchoices.org/2017/01/11/american-humane-certified/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Humane_Certified&oldid=919465138, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 October 2019, at 21:31. Of all the chilling scenes featured in the new documentary Hogwood: A Modern Horror Story by UK vegan charity Viva!, one keeps haunting me. [14] In 2014, turkey producer Butterball became an American Humane Certified producer. These schemes promise high animal welfare standards and environmental protections and began appearing globally in the past couple of decades as a result of higher levels of public concern over health and welfare issues related to farmed meat. The American Humane Certified program is the nation's first independent, third-party certification program to verify the humane treatment of farm animals.

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