VAVSD.org

“In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, ‘We are concerned with reports and analysis indicating that the use of Ventilation Shutdown Plus Heat (VSD+ Heat) has become the default method for depopulations during this outbreak, despite the serious welfare implications involved. Analysis by the @AWIOnline of USDA records from February 2022 to July 2023 indicates that an extremely high percentage of birds (over 83%) were killed in depopulation events that used VSD+ Heat as their sole depopulation method (13.6 million birds) or as one of multiple depopulation methods employed (35.4 million birds).”   In addition to @JuliaBrownley, the letter was signed by 29 Members of Congress including @RepAdamSchiff, Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (D-NC) Ph.D. (D-NC), @ANTHONYDESPO, @BarbaraLeeForCA, @BillPascrell, @BrianFitzUSA, Dan Goldman (D-NY), David J. Trone (D-MD), Dina Titus (D-NV), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Judy Chu (D-CA),  @katieporteroc, Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Norma J. Torres (D-CA), @RoKhanna, Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Troy E. Nehls (R-TX), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX). #onehealth #vetmed #vettwitter #veterinarymedicine #animalwelfare #animalrights #foodfruth #farmtofork #farmtotable juliabrownley.house.gov/brow… – at Miami, FL

Thank you Dan Dizney of Eugene for this letter in the Eugene Weekly: ‘VENTILATION SHUTDOWN’ Were you aware it is perfectly legal in Oregon to subject certain animals to inhumane and even tortuous treatment?  Hyperbole, you say? Recently in Oregon over 750,000 chickens were killed (euthanized would be a gross misuse of the English language) by way of what the state vet calls “ventilation shutdown.” As you may know, today’s factory chicken farms cram thousands of birds into rearing buildings. The state in response to the avian flu epidemic allowed growers to shut down the ventilation systems in these buildings and introduce some heat so that the birds slowly die of heatstroke. These animals are alive and suffering for hours before they succumb.  “Well this had to be done due to the bird flu” some might say. Well no, Oregon is only one of five states that allows this arcane practice. The others mandate more humane methods for dealing with such situations. Please contact your state government reps.   DAN DIZNEY EUGENE  eugeneweekly.com/2024/02/22/… – at Oakland, CA

"The recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has brought the modern industry’s sociopathy to light. When animals get sick, the methods used to end their lives, while expedient for the corporation, cause prolonged suffering for the animals." @ourhonorvets @vetsagainstvsd #onehealth #vetmed #veterinarymedicine #foodtruth #farmtofork #farmtotable #avianinfluenza #plantbased #vegan #animalrights #animalwelfare

Thank you, @EastBayTimes for publishing my op-ed about how the "high-welfare" cage-free egg producer Weber Family Farms in Petaluma, CA after becoming infected with avian influenza, killed their birds en masse via heatstroke. They had failed to put plans in place to end the lives of their birds in less cruel ways. They also took nearly $5 million from us to bail them out for the loss of their birds, whether we buy from them or not. "The mass killing of animals via heatstroke should not be accepted as an unchangeable fact. We must stop incentivizing sociopathy and cruelty and instead support slaughter-free farmers and businesses that embody the values current intensive slaughter-based production systems lack: responsibility and compassion. It isn’t just selfless, though. It turns out that by protecting the animals, we protect our own species, too." #onehealth #vetmed #vettwitter #veterinarymedicine #plantbased #vetstudent #veterinarystudent #foodtruth #farmtofork #farmtotable #superbowl #corporatebailouts #animalrights #animalwelfare #plantbased #vegan

Second-year veterinary student at Utah State University and @OurHonorVets representative, Larrea Cottingham, published this Op-Ed in the @sltrib describing the high costs of the chicken slaughter industry, not just to the birds themselves, but to the workers, wildlife, and taxpayers forced to turn over billions of dollars to support the salaries of wealthy industry executives whose risky business model threatens public health. “Our Honor, a veterinary organization dedicated to ending the suffering of all animals, sent FOIA requests to The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the United States Department of Agriculture and found that, since the beginning of the HPAI outbreak, Jennie-O Turkey Store received more than $85 million in bailouts for avian influenza, while Tyson Foods received $29 million. Both companies resorted to using VSD+ to kill their birds while the combined 2023 compensation of their two CEOs summed $20 million dollars.” #onehealth #avianinfluenza #vetstudent #veterinarystudent #animalscience #foodtruth #farmtofork #farmtotable #plantbased #vegan #animalrights #animalwelfare sltrib.com/opinion/commentar…

Thank you, @melissamyrna_ of the @fresnobee, for this in-depth report about the worker injuries and deaths at Pitman Family Farms in Fresno. Pitman is the maker of the so-called "high welfare" Mary’s Free-Range Chicken as well as the Mary’s Free-Range Duck brand sold in fancy restaurants and grocery stores. Recently, when they were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, after failing to put plans in place to end the lives of their animals in less cruel ways, they resorted to sealing up barns, pumping in heat until the animals died of heatstroke in a process known as ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+). The company received more than $20 million dollars in bailouts at the expense of United States taxpayers. According to data obtained from USDA/APHIS, a total of 984,102 birds have been killed en masse due to avian influenza at Pitman Family Farms facilities, including 817,877 turkeys, 131,491 broiler chickens, and 34,734. Heatstroke-based killing was used on more than 35% of Pitman Family Farms' depopulated flocks, with more than 48% of the total bailout money received compensating them for flocks killed using heatstroke. Worse yet, they are hoping to expand in Lemoore, CA and Pitman plans to add “16 new poultry barns and would include an additional 485,000 chickens, for a new total of approximately 550,000 chickens. The project includes the construction of 432,000 square feet of new poultry barns.” @vetsagainstvsd @ourhonorvets See our compiled data here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets… #onehealth #vetmed #vettwitter #veterinarymedicine #vegan #animalwelfare #animalrights #foodtruth #farmtofork #farmtotable #animalscience

Heatstroke-based killing remains one of the most common methods of depopulation during this recent highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. In many cases, the animals suffer for more than three hours before dying. Will you sign on to our campaign to stop killing animals via heatstroke? ourhonor.org/stopvsd See the FOIA documents here: static1.squarespace.com/stat… #onehealth #farmtofork #farmtotable #foodtruth #vettwitter #nomv #vetmed #veterinarymedicine #veterinarian #vegan #animalrights #animalwelfare #plantbased #vetstudent #veterinarystudent

“As of June, the U.S. government had allocated nearly $1.3 billion to compensate producers for animals killed during outbreaks and other HPAI response activities.” “The Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds, convened by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, recently noted that “HPAI risks are high where production occurs in high-density settings,” joining a growing list of scientific bodies calling for reducing the density of commercial poultry farms.” @OurHonorVets @VetsAgainstVSD thegazette.com/guest-columni… #onehealth #vettwitter #vetmed #veterinarian #plantbased #vegan #animalwelfare #animalrights #ventilationshutdown