Latest news with #poultry
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Eastrington egg production factory 'would house 64,000 free range hens'
A proposed egg production facility near Eastrington in East Yorkshire could house 64,000 for the facility at Owsthorpe Farm have been submitted to East Riding of Yorkshire Council to to documents, the applicants "are seeking to diversity their farming business with the development of a free-range egg production unit".The plans also include automated systems for feeding, drinking, lighting, and ventilation. The application includes the erection of a separate egg packing and storage building. Documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service state the site - accessed from an existing track off Mill Lane - would include two poultry buildings, each housing 32,000 free range laying hens aged between 17 and 70 weeks. The applicants state: "The proposed development is a modern and efficient livestock production unit that is designed to fulfil a modern demand for cheap and environmentally efficiently produced food."The development would operate in accordance with the British Egg Industry Councils Lion Code of Practice, and the RSPCA Freedom Foods site would employ three full-time staff. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Danielle Smith says pulling Alberta out of supply management is worth considering
OTTAWA — Canada's dairy and poultry supply management regime could face a major challenge from within with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith saying she could consider the province exiting the quota system. Article content Smith said at a town hall in Red Deer, Alta., that she found the idea of the province opting out of supply management intriguing. Article content Article content '(C)reating our own Alberta version of supply management, maybe as a pathway to a market system and maybe just because it would stick our finger in the eye of Quebec … might be (something) we want to do a little consultation on,' said Smith. Article content Article content Smith noted that Alberta's share of the Canada-wide quotas for dairy and egg production allotted under supply management falls below its share of the population. Article content Her comments came after one of the attendees, Lee Eddy, a resident of Red Deer County, said earlier in the evening that pulling out of the system would be one way for Alberta to grab the attention of Laurentian power brokers. The town hall was being held as part of Smith's Alberta Next panel, struck to consider tactics for enhancing Alberta's sovereignty. Article content 'If we really want to make the eastern politicians … change their underwear, we should remove our supply management from the Canadian system,' said Eddy. Article content Quebec producers hold roughly 37 per cent of Canada's total milk quota, with Ontario producers holding 32 per cent, according to Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada. Producers in the two provinces have exerted considerable clout over politicians, given their concentration in certain ridings. Article content Alberta producers hold just short of nine per cent, despite the province representing more than 11 per cent of the national population. Article content Article content Eddy suggested that Alberta move first to a transitional provincial quota system and eventually to a market-based system. Article content Supply management has emerged as a major trade irritant with the U.S., further complicating already delicate cross-border trade negotiations. Article content During the recent federal election, Carney promised to keep supply management 'off the table' in new trade negotiations with the U.S. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also said he supports supply management. Article content Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says that Alberta's relative lack of skin in the dairy-quota game gives it a freer hand to take on supply management.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Carrying chickens by legs causes them pain, Green Party leader warns
Carrying chickens by their legs 'causes injury, pain and unnecessary distress', Adrian Ramsay has warned in a bid to block a law change. The Government has planned to overturn an EU ban on catching and carrying poultry by their legs. But Green Party co-leader Mr Ramsay has called for animal welfare standards to be 'improved, not stripped back', as he urged ministers to halt their plans. He has tabled a 'prayer motion', calling for the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 to be 'annulled' before they come into force next week. The regulations set out that farmers will be able to catch and carry turkeys weighing 5kg or less and chickens by both legs, but not by one leg. The existing ban 'does not reflect long-standing policy on appropriate methods of 'catching' chickens set out in GB statutory guidance', according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Ministers' decision to change the law followed a consultation throughout Great Britain, which found 40% of respondents supported two-leg catching. The majority of these were 'poultry industry stakeholders' who 'did not consider two-leg catching to be directly detrimental to bird welfare'. Some industry stakeholders also 'confirmed that young turkeys (weighing 5kg or less) are routinely caught by two legs, while older heavier turkeys (weighing more than 5kg) are routinely caught upright, by a range of different methods'. But Mr Ramsay told the PA news agency: 'The Government's attempt to quietly weaken animal welfare standards for poultry is deeply troubling. 'After Defra cited this practice in its guidance, ministers are now attempting to restore outdated industry practices in law. 'Allowing chickens to be carried upside down by their legs causes injury, pain and unnecessary distress. 'I want our animal protection laws to be improved, not stripped back further. 'If handling methods widely used on farms don't meet welfare standards, then they need to be improved, not made legal because enforcement has failed.' His motion has received cross-party backing, including from Conservative MP for Brigg and Immingham Martin Vickers, his running mate in this year's Green Party leadership election Ellie Chowns, and Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran Irene Campbell.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Carrying chickens by legs causes them pain, Green Party leader warns
Carrying chickens by their legs 'causes injury, pain and unnecessary distress', Adrian Ramsay has warned in a bid to block a law change. The Government has planned to overturn an EU ban on catching and carrying poultry by their legs. But Green Party co-leader Mr Ramsay has called for animal welfare standards to be 'improved, not stripped back', as he urged ministers to halt their plans. He has tabled a 'prayer motion', calling for the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 to be 'annulled' before they come into force next week. The regulations set out that farmers will be able to catch and carry turkeys weighing 5kg or less and chickens by both legs, but not by one leg. The existing ban 'does not reflect long-standing policy on appropriate methods of 'catching' chickens set out in GB statutory guidance', according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Ministers' decision to change the law followed a consultation throughout Great Britain, which found 40% of respondents supported two-leg catching. The majority of these were 'poultry industry stakeholders' who 'did not consider two-leg catching to be directly detrimental to bird welfare'. Some industry stakeholders also 'confirmed that young turkeys (weighing 5kg or less) are routinely caught by two legs, while older heavier turkeys (weighing more than 5kg) are routinely caught upright, by a range of different methods'. But Mr Ramsay told the PA news agency: 'The Government's attempt to quietly weaken animal welfare standards for poultry is deeply troubling. 'After Defra cited this practice in its guidance, ministers are now attempting to restore outdated industry practices in law. 'Allowing chickens to be carried upside down by their legs causes injury, pain and unnecessary distress. 'I want our animal protection laws to be improved, not stripped back further. 'If handling methods widely used on farms don't meet welfare standards, then they need to be improved, not made legal because enforcement has failed.' His motion has received cross-party backing, including from Conservative MP for Brigg and Immingham Martin Vickers, his running mate in this year's Green Party leadership election Ellie Chowns, and Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran Irene Campbell.
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Trader Joe's are being targeted by ‘extreme' animal rights groups in California - with protestors allegedly posing as employees
Shoppers at Trader Joe's in California have been sharing the aisles with animal rights activists, and it doesn't appear that's going change anytime soon. Over the past few months, Direct Action Everywhere - a Berkeley-headquartered group - has been holding demonstrations inside Trader Joe's stores across the state. As the group's name suggests, their tactics include disrupting the daily operations of targeted companies. At Trader Joe's, that has taken the form of marching into the stores with megaphones, screaming profanities at customers, gluing themselves to surfaces, and using signs and videos. According to SFGATE, the group is protesting Trader Joe's poultry products, alleging its supplier — Perdue subsidiary Petaluma Poultry — is keeping birds in inhumane conditions. Trader Joe's has served the group a cease-and-desist letter, according to a July 3 complaint in Alameda County courts. Trader Joe's legal representatives believe the group will ignore the cease and desist and will continue to enter its stores and disrupt customers, the documents state. The complaint notes that Direct Action Everywhere has been targeting Trader Joe's locations for years, but the group's incursions have only recently become more aggressive and more frequent. It describes the group as using signs, skits, and videos, and alleges that more aggressive tactics are causing potential fights. 'They have threatened and berated Trader Joe's customers and Crew Members, physically engaged with Trader Joe's customers, removed items from customers' shopping baskets, and posed as authorized representatives of Trader Joe's,' the complaint says. During a disruption on July 2 at a Pasadena Trader Joe's, one woman glued herself to the meat aisle. At the same time, another protester glued herself to the front desk at the grocery chain's corporate headquarters in Monrovia. Both women were arrested and charged with court dates set for August, according to SFGATE. Days before the July 2 event, Direct Action Everywhere members protested at a number of Trader Joe's locations across California. The complaint alleges that Trader Joe's employees asked the group to stop filming and to leave, but they refused. On June 28, the group stormed a San Diego Trader Joe's and some members allegedly got into a shouting match with a customer, according to the complaint. The lawsuit says that "at least a dozen customers complaint to Crew members about how shaken they were and how some of them were harassed verbally and felt threatened." The Independent has contacted Trader Joe's, Petaluma Poultry, and Direct Action Everywhere for comment. The group says it plans to continue its protests until Trader Joe's changes its poultry supplier. 'I've seen firsthand the cruelty at Perdue's Petaluma Poultry—chickens sick, injured, crammed into filthy crates, left to suffer in agony,' Carla Cabral, a Direct Action Everywhere member named in the complaint, said in a news release. 'We brought this to Trader Joe's, but instead of listening, they blocked us, refused all dialogue, and hired powerful attorneys to try to shut us up.'
