For my own selfish reasons,i've never took notice to other problems or situations within my community.Im self absorbed and i pretty much don't give a fuck half of the time because i think my life is shit.But its not and i take it for granted.During the past couple of hours of reading random stuff on the internet.I found some pretty interesting things that you might never know about Hawaii...unless you looked..like me.So i dedicate this blog to the one thing that stood out the most...we all eat it( if ur a vegetarian...this doesn't include you),,,can you guess what it is?Its good with eggs and rice, people eat it all the time at luaus ( brung out by a spit roasted over a pit)....PORK..which comes from the obvious..pigs.So stay tuned and read the rest Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs are crammed into trucks andshipping containers for an agonizing journey of more than 4,000 miles,from the mainland to Hawaii, that ends at the slaughterhouse.
During this journey the pigs are never once unloaded tothe ground to rest and go for long periods of time without receivingwater or food. Due to overcrowding, stress, fighting, and overexposure,many pigs become ill or die. At the end of the journey they're crudelyunloaded into cramped, filthy pens at the slaughterhouse, where theymay remain for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered.
Pigs are particularly ill-suited to long distancetransport. They suffer from motion sickness, tend to fight amongthemselves when crowded together, and their bodies have a difficulttime adjusting to high temperatures.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Handle with Care, a global coalition of national and internationalanimal protection organizations (including Born Free USA united withAPI), is seeking to end the long-distance transport of animals forslaughter.
The Investigation
In 2007, theCoalition (of which Born Free USA united with API is a member)conducted an investigation into one of the worst transportation routespigs travel in North America. Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs enduresimilar journeys of more than 4,000 miles:
- Day 1: Pigs leave Perlich Bros. Auction Market in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Some were transported 227 miles just to get here.
- Day 2:After being transported more than 1,300 miles by truck, the pigs arriveat Muzzy Ranch in Vacaville, California (operated by Pacific LivestockCo.). They are put directly into shipping containers without ever beingunloaded to the ground to rest.
- Day 3: Thepigs leave Vacaville and are driven to Oakland (or in some fewer casesto Long Beach) were they are loaded aboard a ship operated by MatsonNavigation.
- Day 4–8: Pigs endure a 4 dayjourney onboard Matson Navigation vessel. The pigs are finally fed butthe food may run out a day or more before the shop reaches port.Animals that die on the journey are thrown overboard.
- Day 8:Arriving in Honolulu, it is usually several hours before the pigs areunloaded from the ship. They are left sitting in the heat with minimalventilation.
- Day 9: In the morning, thepigs travel another hour by truck to the Hawaii Livestock Cooperative,the only federally-inspected slaughterhouse on Oahu Island. Itslaughters the majority of pigs processed in Hawaii. Stressed andweakened from their journey, the pigs are crudely unloaded intocramped, filthy pens.
- Day 10–24: The pigsmay remain in crowded pens at the slaughterhouse for up to 2 weeksbefore being slaughtered. Hawaii Food Products and Wong's Meat Marketare the importers of all pigs transported from the mainland to OahuIsland and thus the principal clients of Hawaii Livestock Cooperativeslaughterhouse.
During the journey, the pigs arenever once unloaded to the ground to rest and go for long periods oftime without receiving water or food. Most pigs slaughtered in Hawaiicome from the mainland and the meat is sold to unsuspecting locals andtourists as "Island Produced" pork.
Serious Animal Welfare Problems
The Handle with Care investigators uncovered a number of serious animalwelfare problems when they followed shipments of pigs from Canada toHawaii. These problems apply equally to shipments from the mainland toHawaii, and include:
- The duration of the journey (7 to 9 days and sometimes longer) is far too long.
- The pigs are never unloaded to the ground for food, water, and rest.
- The animals are moved multiple times, increasing the potential for stress and spread of disease.
- Overcrowded conditions result in fighting, increased aggression, and stress.
- The pigs are kept in shipping containers, with minimal ventilation.
- The pigs are left sitting in the full sun for hours on end, sometimes enduring temperatures up to 100° F.
- Pigs were roughly treated with electrical prods and crude implements during loading and unloading.
- Sick and injured pigs are often left untreated.
- Theramp used for unloading the animals at the slaughterhouse is too steep,causing some pigs to panic and increasing their stress levels.
- The slaughterhouse has been cited by the USDA for the inhumane handling and slaughter of animals.
- Theslaughterhouse holding pens are so overcrowded that pigs are forced tolie on top of one another, some coughing continuously.
It doesn't have to be this way.
What the Law Says
Under the Health of Animals Act, Canadiantransport regulations prohibit transporting sick or injured animals,crowding animals to the extent that it could cause injury or unduesuffering and confines pigs in a motor vehicle for longer than 36 hoursunless the animals are fed, watered, and rested. All of these wereobserved during this investigation. However, the pigs travel onCanadian roadways for less than 3 hours after leaving the Lethbridgeauction house and current regulations do not apply once the truckcrosses the border.
In the United States of America,less than one-third of states have adopted laws that restrict theamount of time animals may be confined during transportation, and manyof those that do, allow up to 36 hours or more of confinement withoutfood, water, or rest. The Federal 28-Hour Law, enacted in 1906 andamended in 1994, covers the interstate transport of animals for sale orslaughter. Generally it requires that livestock being transportedacross state lines be humanely unloaded into pens for food, eater, andat least 5 hours of rest every 28 hours.
While this law does not apply when the pigs aretransported between states by ship, our investigators found that thepigs were never unloaded for food, water and rest while transported bytruck from Alberta to California and during their time at the MuzzyRanch. This could be a potential violation of the Federal 28-Hour Law.
You Have the Power to Make a Difference
Help us stop this cruel and unnecessary trade.
- Hawaiianlocals and tourists should ask restaurant and supermarket managers tonever offer pork from live animals transported from the mainland.
- Hawaiianmarkets, restaurants, and hotels should instruct their suppliers theydo not want meat from live animals transported from the mainland.
- North American producers should stop exporting live animals to Hawaii.
- The Hawaiian Legislature should require that the Island Produced label only be used on meat from animals raised on the islands.
Find out how you can help right now! Go to our Action Alert and then go to www.handlewithcare.tv to see additional footage and find out more ways to help the global campaign.
Updated Information
The Handle with Care coalition welcomes news from the Hawaii Dept. ofAgriculture that the last shipment of pigs from Canada to Hawaii was inOctober 2007.
At this time, we cannot confirm that the shipments ofpigs from Canada have ended permanently. There is no Canadian or U.S.regulation that would prevent them from starting up again.
The cruel and unnecessary long distance transport ofanimals for slaughter continues around the globe. The Handle with Carecoalition will continue to campaign for a complete and permanent ban.Thousands of farm animals still suffer journeys from Canada into theU.S. and the U.S. to Hawaii each year when they could be killed farnearer to the point of rearing and transported as chilled or frozenmeat.
Still need more proof?
Pigs tightly crammed together on truck bound for Vacaville, Californiafrom Lethbridge, Alberta. An investigation by the Handle with CareCoalition has raised concerns about the cruel treatment of pigs whichspend 5-10 days in transit in overcrowded and less than sanitaryconditions.
Pigs awaiting slaughter at Oahu slaughter are kept in overcrowded pensin less than sanitary conditions for up to two weeks. An investigationby the Handle with Care Coalition has raised concerns about the crueltreatment of pigs which spend 5-10 days in transit in overcrowded andless than sanitary conditions.
Shit,piss..you name it streaming out of truck as it leaves Honolulu port. Aninvestigation by the Handle with Care Coalition has raised concernsabout the cruel treatment of pigs which spend 5-10 days in transit inovercrowded and less than sanitary conditions.
Whole pig carcasses from slaughterhouse unloaded at Honolulu Chinatown.An investigation by the Handle with Care Coalition has raised concernsabout the cruel treatment of pigs which spend 5-10 days in transit inovercrowded and less than sanitary conditions.
Containers holding pigs bound for Hawaii (third column second from topwith slatted sided) are stacked with other containers aboard Matsonships.
A pig falls from the second tier of its transport container duringunloading at slaughterhouse in Honolulu. An investigation by the Handlewith Care Coalition has raised concerns about the cruel treatment ofpigs which spend 5-10 days in transit in overcrowded and less thansanitary conditions.
An investigation by the Handle with Care Coalition has revealed thatmuch of the pork labeled in Hawaiian grocery chains as "IslandProduced" is actually from pigs shipped live from the mainland from asfar away as Canada.
One of thousands of pigs transported by sea to Hawaii. An investigationby the Handle with Care Coalition has raised concerns about the crueltreatment of pigs which spend 5-10 days in transit in overcrowded andless than sanitary conditions.Im not advocating or tryna convince you not to eat pork.Im basically standing atleast for better trnaportations and treatment for the very animals we slaughter to live.Sounds cruel doesnt it...after seeing this its hard to even want to eat pork.But thats life..we eat pork..the whole world does.But would you want to eat something that has been infested with feces? Was malnutritioned and starved nearly to be the meal at ur dinnertable...and ontop of that treated cruely.Its hard to imgine that its the kind of worl that we live in.But thats why as local people(people of the island) we have the right to refuse this.We can fight back.Theres so much we can do to stop this from happening.It doesnt have to be this way..it never had to be to begin with.AS its been mentioned before the pigs that are being transported here are obviously not " island" produced.Why cant we ? It saves us the hassel of having to deal with this issue.And atleast we'd know were our stock was coming from,how their treated and prepped.The least we have to worry about unsanitary prepped pork that came from the very pigs who had to travel across the pacific..just to be ur bacon...if it were me...id say jsut dont eat porkbut even thats hard to do..for somecome one people...its simpleThink about itLOCAL?CHOOSE LOCAL..BUY LOCAL
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