Will Rickels
Livestock living Conditions
Have you ever driven by a feedlot full of cattle that are buried up to their bellies with manure? How about seeing the methane gas that they have no choice but to constantly breathe? Maybe you know about the millions of hogs that are currently locked in confinement. These are the reasons why America’s livestock need better living conditions.
The first major issue with livestock is the lack of bedding that they receive. Animals need bedding to stay dry. This is important to keep animals warm and free of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, caused by moisture and gas produced by manure. Also, it is not uncommon in the case of hogs to see open, bloody sores on their shoulders because they are forced to lay on hard floors typically made of wood, plastic, or concrete full-time. Bedding shouldn’t be an optional thing, for example, humans don’t sleep on bare, cold concrete floors at night.
Another alarming issue is confinement. Hogs are forced to live out most of their lives in crates that only allow them enough room to stand up and lay down. Sows cannot turn around and can’t step forward or backward. Farrowing crates are also an issue because they keep hogs from caring for their pigs naturally. It is common for sows to accidentally lay on their pigs because they …show more content…
This is rarely true unless livestock at least have dirt, or dry manure to lay upon. Some may say that straw is too expensive, or not available for their area. However, there are other alternatives such as corn stalks, soybean stubble, or even hay that is too low quality to feed. In the case of hogs, bedding can prevent sores and keep the gasses out of the air that cause respiratory infections. It has also been proven that antibiotic fed meat is unhealthy for consumers. Excess antibiotic feeding can also immunise bacteria making them even harder to
Livestock living Conditions
Have you ever driven by a feedlot full of cattle that are buried up to their bellies with manure? How about seeing the methane gas that they have no choice but to constantly breathe? Maybe you know about the millions of hogs that are currently locked in confinement. These are the reasons why America’s livestock need better living conditions.
The first major issue with livestock is the lack of bedding that they receive. Animals need bedding to stay dry. This is important to keep animals warm and free of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, caused by moisture and gas produced by manure. Also, it is not uncommon in the case of hogs to see open, bloody sores on their shoulders because they are forced to lay on hard floors typically made of wood, plastic, or concrete full-time. Bedding shouldn’t be an optional thing, for example, humans don’t sleep on bare, cold concrete floors at night.
Another alarming issue is confinement. Hogs are forced to live out most of their lives in crates that only allow them enough room to stand up and lay down. Sows cannot turn around and can’t step forward or backward. Farrowing crates are also an issue because they keep hogs from caring for their pigs naturally. It is common for sows to accidentally lay on their pigs because they …show more content…
This is rarely true unless livestock at least have dirt, or dry manure to lay upon. Some may say that straw is too expensive, or not available for their area. However, there are other alternatives such as corn stalks, soybean stubble, or even hay that is too low quality to feed. In the case of hogs, bedding can prevent sores and keep the gasses out of the air that cause respiratory infections. It has also been proven that antibiotic fed meat is unhealthy for consumers. Excess antibiotic feeding can also immunise bacteria making them even harder to