Animal agriculture is increasingly being challenged regarding the humane care and well-being of food animals. Opponents of animal agriculture cite “factory farms” as inherently cruel, mainly due to confinement production methods. Some management practices, such as dehorning, castration, beak trimming and branding, are increasingly being questioned on animal welfare grounds.

Proponents of animal agriculture counter these arguments by stating that confinement production methods enhance animal well-being because indoor environments protect animals from predators and disease. Management practices that cause pain to animals are justified by citing the potential for greater pain if not done, e.g., dehorning prevents cattle from using their horns to inflict injury to each other.

Each opposing view holds some truth, but neither presents an adequate or accurate representation of animal agriculture. For producers, ignoring or downplaying animal welfare issues lessens our credibility to the public. The majority of the public does not want to stop eating meat, but they do have concerns regarding how their food is produced.

Producers must be honest with the public in acknowledging issues and working towards solutions. Yes, confinement production systems offer benefits to the animals, but they also raise animal welfare concerns. How are we addressing those concerns? Some management practices do cause pain, but not doing them would cause greater pain in the long-term. What are we doing to mitigate pain? What other options are we investigating to perhaps eliminate the need for some painful procedures?

We must be seen as proactive and open to implementing more animal welfare friendly production methods that are based on science, not emotion. There are issues, let’s face them head-on, open our doors and show how we really do care for our animals.