Animals Used in Food and Fiber
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:15 Written by FIAPO Tuesday, 20 October 2009 23:24
ANIMALS USED IN FOOD AND FIBRE
—that means all animal products like mutton, chicken, egg, leather, dairy, pork, beef, fish and more-- in India are subjected to more suffering, and on a larger scale, than any other animal abusing industry.
India is among the world’s top ranking producers of dairy, leather, and chicken meat and eggs. As the demand for animal products rapidly increases, industrialized factory farming, such as is practiced in the West, is becoming the most lucrative, and therefore common, method of meat and animal-fiber production in India.
Chickens confined in battery cages, dairy cows tethered 24-hours a day, “spent” (“under-productive”) dairy cows, unwanted male calves, goats, and sheep transported across India to slaughterhouses are given virtually no protection, legal or otherwise. The Indian meat and animal-fiber trade operates to a great extent illegally, behind closed doors.
Protecting the animals used in food and fiber is one of the Federation's current priority projects. In its first stage, assessing the scale of the problem is an essential part of determining FIAPO's strategies for making the most significant, long-term improvements to the lives of animals used for food and fiber in India. The Federation has put together several research reports to this effect. Along with this, the Federation is working on capacity building, mobilizing animal welfare groups and individuals through workshops and online information dissemination and networking to become active and effective on behalf of farmed animals in India.
