Taxpayer-funded Farm Committee Slammed for Endorsing Extreme Animal Abuse

Mercy For Animals Speaks Out Against the National Farm Animal Care Council's Newly Released Veal Code of Practice Allowing Veal Producers to Cram Baby Calves into Tiny Barren Cages

TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ -Today, international animal protection group Mercy For Animals is speaking out against the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) for continuing to condone the use of inherently cruel veal crates in its newly released code of practice for the treatment of calves raised for veal. NFACC—which receives millions of taxpayer dollars to improve farmed animal welfare—has disregarded the interests of Canadian taxpayers and consumers and now lags woefully behind leading grocers, farming associations, and Canada's largest veal producers, who have all agreed to eliminate cruel crates by 2018.

A 2014 undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals into Délimax, a Quebec veal factory farm, revealed the following abuse:

• Calves crammed into feces-covered wooden crates barely larger than their own bodies
• Calves chained by the neck, unable to even turn around or lie down comfortably for their entire lives
• Animals painfully stuck in the slats of their crates
• Workers violently kicking, punching, and throwing baby animals
• Sick and injured animals left to suffer and slowly die in their own filth without proper veterinary care

As a result of the investigation, Les Producteurs de bovins du Québec (Quebec Cattle Producers) committed to banning veal crates at its member facilities by 2018 and Veal Farmers of Ontario recommended a phase out by 2018; major retailers Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro agreed to ban veal crates in their supply chains (a ban was already in effect at Costco); and Harvey Buksbaum, CEO of Montpak International, North America's largest veal and lamb producer, committed to banning the use of crates for calves raised and slaughtered in Montpak's supply chain by 2018.

Veal crates are deemed so cruel they have also been banned in the European Union, and nine U.S. states. Yet NFACC still endorses the cruel practice of ripping baby calves from their mothers, and forcing them into solitary confinement in cages or  into small outdoor hutches in all weather conditions. These animals have done nothing wrong, yet are left to suffer in total isolation.

"Torturing baby animals is simply out of step with consumer expectations and business trends," said Krista Hiddema, vice president of Mercy For Animals in Canada. "Science and common sense tell us that animals with legs should be given at least enough room to walk and exercise, and should not be left to suffer alone. Once again, the National Farm Animal Care Council fails to take a stand against blatant animal abuse."

SOURCE Mercy For Animals

For further information: Krista Hiddema: 416-666-3093