HSUS May Cause 24 Million Hens to Die

There’s a certain undercurrent in the animal liberation movement that believes animals are better off dead than being used by humans. A lawyer representing PETA and several other animal rights groups, for instance, argued in court that elephants are better off being killed than being cared for in a U.S. zoo. Meanwhile, PETA itself kills close to 90% of the dogs and cats in its care—over 30,000 animals since 1998.

Now, it seems that the Humane Society of the United States has outdone PETA by a factor of 1,000.

In 2008, HSUS funded the California ballot measure Proposition 2, which bans state egg farmers from using conventional cages, something that would put egg farmers out of business by forcing them to build costly newer cages or cage-free housing to give hens more spaces. HSUS didn’t care that the measure would bankrupt Golden State farmers—it is a vegan organization that is against eating eggs—but the California legislature recognized this reality and passed a state law in 2010 forcing out-of-state egg farmers to abide by Prop 2’s regulations if they want to sell eggs in California.

This protectionist measure is being challenged by several states that believe it is unconstitutional, but the California egg ban survived the first round of the court battle. As January 1 approaches, farmers in other states are preparing to make changes. But since it’s too late to build new housing, farmers can only give more space to hens by reducing their flock sizes.

One agriculture expert speaking to Stateline said that in Iowa, the nation’s largest egg producer, he expects farmers will kill 40% of their hens to comply with California’s protectionist law.

Iowa has about 60 million hens. Forty percent of that is 24 million animals that may be culled—thanks to HSUS, which pushed for both Prop 2 and the import ban. (Oddly, the owner of “Snow” seems silent on the impending matter.)

The Humane Society of the United States is against the use of animals for food—period—despite its intellectually dishonest campaigns trying to assert that HSUS is in favor of small-scale farmers. But if HSUS is able to shut down farming, it won’t just kill businesses.