Animal agriculture is an integral part of Wisconsin and has been around for many generations in the state. As of recently Animal Rights groups have been taking more extreme measures to make it harder for Wisconsin farmers to produce. Emily Ellis the Communications Manager with the Animal Agriculture Alliance says they have been following these trends closely.
“Some of the big tactics we are seeing right now are direct targeting of farmers and ranchers, with criminal trespass and animal theft,” explains Ellis. “We are also seeing a lot of targeting restaurants and retail food service brands, by driving up the costs of meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy in the stores.”
The groups are accomplishing these higher prices by convincing the food companies to adopt certain policies. When they are looking for food brands and farms, the groups target well-known names. This allows them to get more media presence and further their agenda. Another big tactic being used by the activists are ballot measures in the recent election.
Ballot Measures
“These ballot measures are being used to force changes on farmers and ranchers. It is pretty successful for the animal rights groups. This because it relies on the general public to determine certain practices,” says Ellis. “If they don’t understand those practices it is hard to reach every consumer to share animal agriculture’s perspective.”
In the recent November election there were four of these ballot initiatives in the United States. Two of them were in California and two were in Denver. However, only one of these passed and it was a CAFO ban in Berkely, California. Now that one has passed it is likely more will be seen next election. The ballot initiatives in Denver were to outlaw processing facilities and one to ban the sales of fur products.
Possible Future
Ellis explained that recently a leader of one of the activist groups that participated in the Denver measures said that Madison, Wisconsin is one of possible next cities to try in 2026. Although it is currently just speculation, it is a very real issue that Wisconsin agriculture could be facing in the near future.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is working hard to combat the false information being spread by the activists. Ellis explains that there is a very big difference between animal welfare and animal rights. They support animal welfare and ethical care for animals.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is looking for farmers and ranchers to share their stories. They want the farmers and ranchers to help spread the good word of animal agriculture in the U.S.
