Ohio has become a trailblazer by enacting the first wide-scale livestock care standards in the United States. Ohio Agriculture Director Jim Zehringer organized a lengthy series of public meetings and negotiations between farming-related groups and businesses to get the measures passed. The battle lines between interested parties were drawn early in the debate which began in 2009. An overhaul of livestock care standards initially drew such opposition that a statewide ballot issue seemed inevitable.
National Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle applauds the comprehensive agreement for the ethical treatment of livestock approved in Ohio.
"In general, we're very pleased how the farm animal piece turned out. They handled it more comprehensively than our agreement called for," Pacelle told Ohio media.
The livestock care standards address the care and processing of both dairy and beef cattle, poultry animals, veal, swine, horses, alpacas and llamas. Violations of the ethical and clean processing rules face civil penalties. The new rules protect humans just as much as livestock.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture and a group of veterinarians will inspect farms, process complaints and arrive on-site within an hour if a disease outbreak is suspected. The focus of the livestock policy is not to penalize farmers but to work with Ohio's agriculture industry to improve livestock conditions and food safety.
Former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland entered into negotiations with the Ohio Farm Bureau, related agricultural trade groups and the Humane Society in 2009. A series of hot debates ensured at public meetings without a deal being reached. The original Strickland agreement was set to include legislation relating to cock fighting, puppy mills and exotic animals.
While new initiatives for nonlivestock and animal fighting are important, the new leadership chose to focus on the heart of the reform issue and get it resolved before moving on to other ethical treatment of animals concerns. Humane Society representatives pushed for a ballot issue when progress on the issue fell apart under the Strickland administration, collecting 500,000 signatures to put the measure in front of Ohio voters.
The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board is comprised of both citizens and farming businesses. The agriculture industry typically garners $107 billion each year in the Buckeye State. Farming-related jobs are responsible for every one in seven jobs in the state, making agriculture the state's top industry, according to Ohio State University researchers. Ohio ranks eighth in the country for pork production and second in the nation for poultry.
Growing pains from such sweeping changes are inevitable, but overall farming associations are satisfied with the new standards and are ready to move on after two years of debate. Measures contained in the statewide policy include the elimination of gestation stalls for hogs.
New farms and construction on existing farms must include group housing for swine. Existing farms are permitted to continue the use of poultry battery cages but new farms must offer cage-free housing areas. New bovine rules include elimination of veal crates and tail docking on dairy cows.
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