We’ve recently been receiving inquiries about whether or not there is a “free range” requirement for animals in the Certified Humane® program.  We think it’s important to explain what our standards are and the reasoning behind them.

The purpose of this program is to improve the lives of farm animals being raised for food.  Our standards require that all ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats) be outdoors on pasture.

Most poultry are raised in barns because of weather.  Chickens raised for meat (broiler chickens) live between 6 and 8 weeks of age.  They can’t go out until they have full feathers, which is around 4 weeks of age.  If the farm is in the Northern part of the US or in Canada, at best, the weather would allow for animals to go out for 3 or 4 months, and maybe one or two flocks would get to go out for two weeks, assuming it is not raining or very windy.   For laying hens, they live longer, but you have the same issues of weather.

Those programs that require “outdoor access” always have the caveat “weather permitting.”  None of those programs requiring “outdoor access” have any standards for poultry for the time when they are not accessing the outdoors.   So when these laying hens and chickens are in their barns for 9-10 months of the year, there are no space requirements, clean air requirements, dust-bathing requirements and none of the needs of the birds are being met.  We thought that it was more important for the birds to have their needs met all year long. We do have strict requirements for free range and pasture based poultry in our standards and there are many Certified Humane® poultry farmers that met these strict standards on our program.

When we wrote our standards, it was important to us to make sure that the needs of the birds were met, whether they were indoors or outdoors.  The purpose of this program is to improve the lives of farm animals being raised for food.  We wrote our standards to meet the needs of laying hens, which are, clean air (we require less than 10 parts per million (ppm) of ammonia in barns.  This means if you can smell it, it is too much). Hens need to perch because that is what they do and it is also a way for them to get away from other hens that annoy them (more aggressive hens).  Hens like to dust-bathe.  Dust-bathing is important to them because it protects their feathers and is a natural thing for them to do.  The hens need space.

Therefore, our standards include sections for both barn raised and free-range birds. For barn raised birds, they must have adequate space, for example 1.5 sq. ft/bird (which is defined), they must have dust-bathing material, perches, nest boxes, and high air quality so that there is not even a whiff of ammonia.  All of these standards are written with specific numbers and measures and are inspected.   For “free range” producers on our program, there are range requirements, space requirements, range rotation, management, predator protection, etc.

Pigs can be raised indoors as well as outdoors as long as they meet our minimum space requirements, which allow them to express natural behaviors and to move around freely. Gestating sows are not allowed to be kept in narrow gestation stalls in which they cannot move or turn around. Farrowing pigs are not allowed in farrowing pins, where they cannot move freely either. The air must be clear of ammonia and the pigs must have a clean, dry resting area.

One of the complications of raising pigs outdoors is environmental. A natural behavior of pigs is to root and when they do that, they tear up the fields. Unless a farmer has enough land to rotate pastures, they will put nose rings on the pigs to keep them from rooting up the fields.

The nose rings cause pain every time a pig tries to root, which is what pigs do. It is their natural behavior.  It would be as if we had an artificial device on our faces that caused us pain every time we tried to smile.  When pigs are raised outdoors, they root in the fields.  Rooting is normal behavior for pigs.  In order to raise pigs outdoors, there needs to be adequate space, pasture management plans and rotationally moving the pigs from pasture to pasture at different times of the year.  If there Is not enough pasture, or good pasture management, or rotational grazing methods are not used, the farmer has bare areas instead of vegetation.  Farmers put nose rings on pigs to prevent them from rooting and therefore they don’t have to manage the ground, the vegetation or the pigs.  We have space requirements and do not allow nose rings.  Nose rings do nothing to benefit the pig.

Cows, both dairy and beef, goats and sheep have an outdoor pasture requirement because they are ruminant animals and must be able to eat grasses and roughage in order to digest their foods.  These animals digest mechanically as opposed to chemically which is how people digest food.

For specifics on each species, read our standards.  They are on our website at: http://www.certifiedhumane.org/index.php?page=standards

It is not easy for farmers to meet these standards.  We wrote the standards to meet the real needs of the animals, not perceived needs.  They are actually the highest animal welfare standards for animals in food production.   These standards make a real difference and improve the lives of the farm animals on our program.

One of the most egregious welfare issues in dairy production is the practice of tail docking. The practice of tail docking started in New Zealand in the 1980’s and soon spread to North America. The reason it gained in popularity was farmers claimed it improved their ease of milking the cows, their ability to keep cows clean and their ability to keep the cow’s udder’s healthy.  This made managing dairy cows easier for the farmers.

Unfortunately, no one thought of the impact on the cows.  Cows use their tails for many purposes, including swatting flies, and to communicate with other cows.  When a cow’s tail is docked, it is painful.  There is no welfare benefit to the cow for undergoing this painful procedure, and when her tail is docked she can’t swat flies and she can’t use it to communicate with her herd mates.

Tail docking has never been allowed for dairy cattle in the Certified Humane® program.  The decision to prohibit tail docking was made by our scientific committee, led by Dr. Carolyn Stull.  Dr. Stull was one of four animal scientists that helped write the original HFAC Animal Care Standards, and is the Chair of our Scientific Committee.  Dr. Stull has conducted numerous research projects assessing the issues around tail docking, and her results have shown that tail docking is a painful procedure, and that the theoretical benefits of tail docking do not actually exist.  Thanks to Dr. Stull’s work, it is now known that there is no benefit to the farmer to dock their cows’ tails, and it is an unnecessary and painful procedure.

Unfortunately, tail docking has been a widespread practice in the US commercial dairy industry.  The dairy industry trade association, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), has never prohibited tail docking. However, on July 23, 2012 the NMPF Board of Directors approved a resolution to oppose tail docking of dairy cows in their industry guidelines, the Dairy FARM program.  Their decision also aligns their FARM program with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP).  The Board voted to approve the following language:

“NMPF’s National Dairy FARM Animal Care Program opposes the routine tail docking of dairy animals, except in the case of traumatic injury to an animal. This practice is recommended to be phased out by 2022. Switch trimming is recommended as a preferred alternative. Acknowledging existing animal cruelty laws, NMPF opposes efforts to prescribe specific on-farm animal care practices through federal, state, or local legislative or regulatory action.”

Dr. Stull has been instrumental in getting the industry group to change their position.  We congratulate Dr. Stull on this achievement.

While we commend the NMPF on opposing tail docking in dairy cows, we feel that ten years is far too long to wait for implementing this policy.    When a farmer wants to become Certified Humane® and has practiced tail docking in the past, they must immediately cease all tail docking on their cows, or we will not certify them.  We have not found that any dairy farm which immediately ceased tail docking has had problems. We would urge the NMPF to change the phase out period to two years instead of ten years.

We’ve received some exciting news from one of our supporters.  She recently contacted FreshDirect, an online grocery company that delivers groceries in the New York City area, and asked them to carry Certified Humane® meat, eggs and dairy products.  She told us that their response was, “if more people ask for Certified Humane® products, we will consider carrying them.”  

So, we need your help!  Anyone living in the New York City area, where Fresh Direct delivers … Can you contact Fresh Direct at service@freshdirect.com and ask them to carry Certified Humane® products?  By making your voice heard, you will be doing your part to spread the word about Certified Humane® products and make them even more widely available to consumers.  Below is a sample email you can send to Fresh Direct.  Tell your friends to contact them too!  Together, we can make a difference for farm animals.

Dear Fresh Direct,

I’m writing to ask you to carry products that are Certified Humane Raised and Handled®.  I know that products with this specific certification come from animals that were raised with strict humane standards from birth through the slaughter process.

The nation’s leading humane organizations back the Certified Humane® program and USAToday called Certified Humane® a gold standard.

This is a label that I trust and I would like to purchase Certified Humane® products from your website.  I ask that you start selling products that are Certified Humane®.  You can find more information on the Certified Humane® program at CertifiedHumane.org.

Sincerely,

Your name
Your address
City, State, Zip

Look carefully in the dairy area of your supermarkets and  you are likely to see many different egg products that are Certified Humane®.   Being Certified Humane® is a badge of honor for farmers and the grocers who sell their products.  They recognize it’s the right thing to do…. it’s also good business.

Two of the most common products in the supermarket dairy aisle are eggs and milk.  Despite the public’s increasing demand for animal products coming from animals produced humanely,  the vast majority of dairy farmers  have not felt the need to become Certified Humane®.  As a result, there are very few Certified Humane® dairy products and NO Certified Humane® milk products available in your grocer’s fridge.  Indeed, there are less than 25  cow dairy farms in the US that are certified by either Certified Humane® or Animal Welfare Approved®, the two animal welfare certification programs that have the highest standards and most rigorous and comprehensive inspection programs.

The most common explanation we’ve heard for the lack of Certified Humane® dairies is the belief of dairy farmers that the public doesn’t care.  “Where’s the demand?” we’ve heard from countless dairy farmers; supermarkets, too, are not hearing from consumers like you asking for them to supply Certified Humane® dairy products.

And they’re right – not enough consumers are making their voices heard about their desire for humanely raised dairy products.

I know that if milk producers thought the public wanted proof that they take proper care of their dairy cows and produce milk products under humane conditions — they would apply for certification.
Informed consumers want to know that the milk they provide for  their family came from cows which are not constrained in tie stalls and are free to move about,  are provided a healthy diet free from antibiotics and growth hormones like rBST,  and  are required to have access to the outdoors.  That’s what is required to be Certified Humane®.

So go to our Take Action Page to see all the ways you can help us get more dairy farmers on the program. When you go to your supermarket, hand in the request form to the grocery manager, or customer service desk.  Ask your friends and neighbors to do the same.   Let’s work together to let dairy farmers know that you do care about how dairy cows are treated.

For many years, we have worked with our farmers and ranchers to identify practical ways to reduce the stress and sometimes pain that beef cattle and dairy cows experience after routine husbandry practices such as castration.  Previously, there were no medications available to farmers which could be easily used in the field, or that provided effective pain control to the animals.

In June of 2011, we initiated the review and revision process of our beef cattle, dairy cattle and young dairy beef standards with a week-long meeting of dairy and beef science members of our  Scientific Committee (you can see a complete listing of the members here).  The focus of the meeting was to review and evaluate the farm animal welfare research that had been done since the last revision of the standards, and to incorporate the new findings into the standards.  When we learned of new, safer and easier to administer methods of providing animals with the needed analgesia, it was important to integrate them into the HFAC standards.

There is now an effective painkiller that can be easily administered by a farmer during routine handling, and that provides relief to the animal from the pain of procedures such as castration.  Due to this new finding, HFAC standards now require cattle to receive pain control when undergoing painful procedures.

The revised standards, which became effective January 15,  2012 are the end product of that review and revision process. The revised standards require that cattle must receive pain control when undergoing painful husbandry procedures

HFAC is the only national animal welfare organization to make pain control a key component of farm animal welfare certification standards.  We have been working to educate farmers and ranchers on how to implement the new standards and meet the requirements for providing pain control.  Our commitment is to maintain the nation’s strongest farm animal welfare standards, and the introduction of new pain control requirements illustrates that fact.

Ed Sayres, President and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and a member of the HFAC Board of Directors, notes that “once again, Certified Humane® is tackling the big issues and helping to redefine what it means to promote animal welfare, especially the humane treatment of farm animals.”

The revised standards also clarify the importance of maintaining safe and humane conditions in the transportation of animals, and prohibit the use of genetically modified or cloned animals. Additionally, the standards now include a series of scientific appendices that provide critical information to farms on topics such as temperature/humidity indexes, methods of weaning, lameness scoring for dairy cows, and body condition scoring.

There has been a lot of discussion in the news lately about the “enriched” cages (also  known as “colony,” “furnished” or “modified” cages) as being a good alternative housing system for laying hens.

The Humane Farm Animal Care® (HFAC) standards do not allow conventional battery cages and do not and will not allow the “enriched” cage on our program.  Here are the reasons why:

Space:  There is not enough space for laying hens to move around, or flap their wings.
Laying hens need space to move around; they need between 151 – 252 sq. inches to turn around and between 168 – 404 sq. inches to flap their wings.  Dr. Marian Dawkins’ research showed that laying hens shunned cages with ceiling heights of less than 18” in height.

• Conventional Cages:  Those that meet the United Egg Producers (UEP) standards have between 67- 76 sq. inches (depending on the size of the birds).  There are unfortunately some producers that don’t meet the UEP standards and have cage sizes as small as 48 sq. inches per bird.  The height of the cage is generally 14.9”
•  “Enriched” Cages: There are different configurations of “enriched” cages.  Small cages that hold 10 – 12 birds, medium cages that hold 15 – 30 birds” and larger cages that hold 60 birds.  The usable space per bird is 93 sq. inches/bird. The height of the cage is 17.7 inches

Nest Boxes:  Lack of nesting/nest box space
Laying hens are very motivated to find a suitable nest site to lay their eggs.  This is an important welfare need to prevent frustration.  When there is no nest box/nesting area, laying hens can exhibit stereotypical behaviors that indicate frustration.

• Conventional Cages:  No nest boxes
• “Enriched” Cages:  There is usually one small nest box for each cage. Birds are forced to compete for the site each day.  Some hens may choose to remain in the nest box even when not laying eggs in an attempt to remove herself from the other hens in the confined space of the cage, thus preventing other hens from using the nest.

Perching/ Roosting: No elevated perches
Modern hens in production have retained the strong instinct to perch. Perching on elevated perches with their flockmates is a natural behavior which helps to conserve body heat.  When hens are prevented from gaining access to an elevated perch at night they may show signs of unrest.

• Conventional Cages:  No elevated perches
• “Enriched” Cages:  There are no real “elevated perches” (above 16”).  The perch that is in the “enriched” cage is 2 – 3” off the cage floor which does not address the need of the birds for elevated perches.  It also may be difficult for the birds to move around the cage and may not be easily accessible for many of the birds in cage.

Dustbathing:  Not adequate litter and area to dustbathe.
Dustbathing is an important requirement for laying hens because it contributes to both the physical and behavioral needs of the birds.  Dustbathing enables the hens to recondition their feathers, remove the build-up of stale oils produced by their bodies and parasites.  Dustbathing helps laying hens maintain a comfortable body temperature.

• Conventional Cages:  No dustbathing
• “Enriched” Cages:  There is not sufficient depth or size area for the hens to actually toss, rub and shake the litter through her feathers (in other words, dustbathe).

Laying Hens that are Certified Humane®:  Barn raised, aviaries, free range and pasture raised housing systems are allowed in the Certified Humane® program. (click here for more information and photos of laying hen housing and free range requirements)

All of these systems require that:

• All hens have freedom of movement so they can space themselves in such away to allow individual hens to move from others;
• All hens have sufficient room to exercise, stretch and flap their wings;
• All hens can gain access to all the different facilities without difficulty;
• Considerably more nest boxes are available to hens allowing the hens to gain access to the nest box of their choice.
• Hens have perches are available to the hens that are high (elevated at least 16” off the ground) and low that do not detract from the overall floor area.
• Hens are provided with enough space and access to litter to be able to dustbathe where and when they choose.