Feature Archives

Ninety-five percent of all eggs in this country are produced by hens in cramped and unhealthy battery cages which are packed into dark and rank warehouses holding up to 125,000 birds each. A significant share of the nation's eggs come from California's Central Valley. Animal advocates are addressing this intensive industry-standard practice in a number of ways and achieving some success. Activists campaigned recently to urge the Trader Joe's grocery chain to stop selling eggs from battery caged hens. As of February 1st, the grocery store no longer carries such eggs. East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA) has released a video documenting the squalid condition of egg-laying hens in California. EBAA are encouraging people to see for themselves where their eggs come from and to contact their elected representatives to demand enforcement of a law which makes the conditions created for hens by battery cage confinement illegal. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has filed a lawsuit targeting the tax-breaks that egg producers receive despite the legal violations inherent in their methods.

EBAA Undercover Video · HSUS Lawsuit: 1 | 2 · Trader Joes Campaign: 1 | 2

After 3 weeks of being denied vegan meals, Eric McDavid is now on a hunger strike. Since January 13th, he has been held in the Sacramento County Main Jail and denied vegan food. His family has reported that his health has been failing from three weeks of malnourishment. Eric began the hunger strike on January 31st. Despite the efforts of his family, friends, and lawyer he has not been given food he can eat. Supporters are asking that people call the county jail and politely but firmly request that he be given vegan food (food without animal products such as meat, dairy, or eggs) before his health deteriorates further. They say that people should point out that being able to eat is Eric’s human right and vital to his physical and mental well-being. Read more

Read more about the Three Auburn Eco-Defense Arrestees on Indybay's Police and Prisons and California News Pages

A federal grand jury in San Francisco demanded the re-appearance of several alleged animal rights activists on Wednesday, January 25th. These people face jail time for exercising their right to remain silent before what supporters call a "secret government inquisition." They say that a strong showing of opposition to FBI witch hunts is crucial to the survival of the activist community. About 50 supporters demonstrated at 9:00am in front of the San Francisco Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate (between Polk and Larkin).

In a report from the June 22nd, 2005 grand jury hearing, Indybay reporter Kelah Bott stated that "Many activists (and non-activist citizens) are opposed to the Grand Jury system as a violation of one’s constitutional rights. Once in the Grand Jury room, those forced to testify have no right to an attorney. The power of the prosecutor goes unchecked and there is no limit to the scope of the questions they may ask. The Grand Jury is used a tool of the prosecution to gather information on social justice movements and to drive divisions between activists."

Report and Photos | Photos, Video and Audio

FBI Witchhunt.com | Past Indybay Coverage of the SF Animal Rights Grand Jury

In an apparent attempt to disrupt the activities of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and other direct action animal activists, seven animal activists now known as the SHAC 7 are set to be tried — with jury selection starting February 6th — in New Jersey for violating the Federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The Act punishes anyone who "physically disrupts" an animal enterprise. The charges stem from these activists' alleged participation in an international campaign to close the product testing vivisection labs of Huntingdon Life Sciences. They are alleged to have operated a website that reported on and expressed ideological support for protest activity against Huntingdon and its business affiliates. For this they are charged with "terrorism" and face an aggregate of 23 years in Federal Prison.

Oakland Benefit Held Wednesday, January 11th: Report & Photos | 1 | 2 · SHAC 7 Events Calendar

Previous Indybay features on Federal persecution of animal activists, including current Grand Jury in SF: 1 | 2 | 3

Older Reports on SHAC Arrests and More: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

It appears to be that many animals in New Orleans died because Governor of LA Kathleen Blanco, FEMA and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin did not allow people affected by Hurricane Katrina to stay with their pets or to return to New Orleans to rescue their loved family pet members. Some 40,000 companion animals reportedly died because they had been left at home, either starving to death or suffering from injuries. Some pets who survived have been lost in the system because it took organizations several months to get organized enough to be able to list so many rescued animals. Many people have complained about incompetence of Humane Services of the United States in particular, saying that HSUS lost their pets in "the system." Volunteers in many areas are still overwhelmed with trying to take care of the displaced animals: Needs Assessment as of November

It appears that some 10,000 companion animals did survive. Animal advocates are asking for people to notify gulf coast residents and displaced people that there are now several resources that they can use to search for their pets..

Read resources and tips for finding animals

On Buy Nothing Day, November 25th, animal rights activists targeted the makers and sellers of fur throughout the Bay Area and across the country. In addition to sponsoring events in 20 states, In Defense of Animals (IDA) held one of the largest local demonstrations in San Francisco. Dozens of activists demonstrated in bustling Union Square and in front of the fur and fur-trim retailers Macy's and Neiman Marcus, educating shoppers about where fur comes from. Most fur, activists reported, comes from Chinese fur farms where, due to weaker animal welfare laws, the animals are treated inhumanely and skinned alive. Foxes, minks, rabbits, raccoons and dogs and cats are raised in poor conditions and slaughtered in the name of fashion. After being skinned, the carcasses of the animals are ground up and fed back to the trapped animals.

Photos & Video | Related

IDA's Fur Kills.org | PETA's Fur Is Dead.org

Indybay's 2004 Fur Free Friday Coverage

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Oakland's East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA), and five poultry consumers filed suit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policy of excluding chickens, turkeys, and other birds killed for human consumption from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958. The animal protection organizations, representing more than nine million members and constituents, assert that current poultry slaughter methods are cruel. "These birds ... are being slaughtered by methods that are not humane," said Paul Shapiro, spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States. "It's only because the USDA fails to define poultry as livestock even though any dictionary definition demonstrates that farmed birds ought to be." The groups filing suit estimate that 9 billion birds, or about 95 percent of domestic animals raised on farms, are unprotected during the slaughter process. U.S. industry practices include hanging live birds upside down in metal shackles, then moving them through an electrified water bath that paralyzes them while still conscious, and sometimes drowning conscious birds in tanks of scalding water. The lawsuit said recent reports of abuse in slaughter plants in West Virginia, Maryland and Alabama, where workers jumped on, kicked and slammed chickens against a wall, increased the need to protect poultry. In those cases, neither the workers nor the plants could be prosecuted because poultry are not covered under the federal law for human treatment of livestock.

Read More: 1 | 2 | 3

HSUS's Still a Jungle Out There | EBAA's California Turkey Industry

Recent Holiday-related News: 1 | 2 | 3
Indybay's 2004 Coverage of Thanksgiving