Animal welfare deserves science, not a patchwork of state laws

As veterinarians, our responsibility begins and ends with the health and welfare of the animals under our care.

Collectively, we have spent decades in sow barns, investigating disease outbreaks, evaluating housing systems and working alongside pig farmers to continuously improve the care of their animals.

That responsibility is not political. It is professional.

Unfortunately, the conversation surrounding California’s Proposition 12 has become overly simplified.

Too often, it is presented as a choice between supporting animal welfare or supporting pork producers. To be clear, these two concepts coexist without Prop 12.

As swine veterinarians, we have worked with producers using individual stalls, group housing, different feeding systems, varying space allowances and Proposition 12-compliant systems.

Our understanding of animal welfare has evolved over time and will continue to evolve as new research, technologies and management practices emerge.

We — and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians — believe Proposition 12 is the wrong approach. Animal welfare should be driven by science, not by a patchwork of state-by-state legislation.

Modern pork production supplies consumers food nationwide through an integrated system. When one state adopts unique production requirements, those standards do not remain within that state’s borders.

They ripple across the entire supply chain, creating increased complexity, reduced efficiency and higher costs for both producers and consumers.

As veterinarians, we also know that good welfare cannot be reduced to a single measurement such as square footage.

Animal welfare is influenced by nutrition, air quality, genetics, health, caregiver training, social interactions, stocking density and daily management. We evaluate welfare by outcomes — not by a single design specification written into law.

Proposition 12 should not be viewed as a referendum on whether animal welfare matters. Of course, it does.

The real question is whether the future of animal welfare should be shaped by scientific evidence and veterinary expertise or by a patchwork of arbitrary laws.

Bill Hollis is Carthage System president, partner and veterinarian and Aaron Lower is president, director of business development, partner and veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service.