Farming
Old McDonald doesn't have a farm anymore. What's life like these days for laying hens, chickens, pigs, sheep, cattle, and in fish farms?
Chickens
Chickens are raised in crowded, dark sheds. They are bred to grow so fast that they suffer joint and bone problems. Some die from diseases such as heart attacks. They are slaughtered when they are only 6-7 weeks old.
Pigs
Pigs don't live on nice farms like "Babe". Most pigs are kept in sheds in bare pens where they can't exercise and have nothing to do. It would be illegal to keep dogs in this way.
Laying hens
Most laying hens live in bare and crowded cages, often called "battery cages". They can never flap their wings, walk freely, or scratch the ground. To stop the hens pecking each other, up to half of the beak is cut off.
Sheep
Sheep are not well suited to Australia. They suffer and die during droughts and bad weather. Merinos in particular can get "flystrike", where blowfly maggots eat into the flesh of living sheep. Lamb suffer the very painful "mulesing" operation to reduce flystrike on the rear end. Slices of skin are cut off on either side of the tail, without any pain killers. Tails are also cut off without any pain relief.
Live animal export
Millions of sheep are exported overseas on huge ships, mainly to the Middle East. Transport is very stressful to animals. Some sheep just stop eating and die. Thousands of sheep have either burned or drowned when accidents have happened at sea. In the Middle East they have their throats cut without being made unconscious first.
Cattle
Beef Cattle
Some beef cattle are kept in the arid inland areas of Australia, where conditions are particularly harsh. These animals suffer the pain of hot iron branding, castration (males) and dehorning (long-horned cattle). Other cattle are kept in the crowded conditions of feedlots.
Dairy cows
Dairy cows have to be regularly pregnant to keep producing milk. Their calves are taken away from them as young as 1 day old. This is traumatic for both mother and calf. Many of the calves are slaughtered for veal, and the cows are killed as soon as they pass their prime.
Fishing Industry
Commercial fishing has led to huge declines in the number of fish in the sea. Apart from killing vast numbers of fish, fishing nets and lines also kill dolphins, turtles and birds such as albatross. Farming fish such as tuna and salmon can lead to pollution problems with so many fish crowded into one area.
AntiBiotics in Agriculture
The use of antibiotics in agriculture, including their use as growth promotants in intensive industries, is producing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, some of which can produce disease in humans.
Pee Farming
In North America, ten of thousands of pregnant mares are confined on so-called pee farms to collect urine and the oestrogens it contains for the hormone replacement drug Premarin.