ABSTRACT

The US agricultural sector is comparable in size with that of the European Union (EU) before the latter enlarged in 2004. For example, in 2001 there were about 250 million laying hens in the US and 300 million in the EU (Fisher and Bowles, 2002). However, while there is increasing discussion of farm animal welfare in the US (Rollin, 2004), there has been relatively little improvement in the treatment of livestock compared to that in Europe. Most of the industry is very intensive. For example, over 99 per cent of laying hens are in battery cages that are very crowded: in 2002 many provided less than 361cm2 (56in2) per bird and a programme was launched to increase the minimum allowance initially to this amount (United Egg Producers, 2002). This article will consider attitudes to the sentience of animals in US farming and implications for future changes in farm animal welfare.