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Globally, Japan’s livestock protection index is ranked at the lowest level. Japanese companies are rated at the lowest level in the BBFAW (Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare) for animal welfare, making investment in them high-risk. This lag is not just affecting livestock farmers but is also negatively impacting the Japanese food companies in the future. How can we catch up? Facing harsh realities In the summer of 2023, we investigated the proportion of laying hens raised in free-range systems. We discovered that only 1.11% (currently 1.12%) of them are free-range in Japan. At this rate, animals in Japan will continue to suffer for the next 10, 20, or 50…
There was a whistleblower to report repeated acts of violence, including attacking injured areas, at the Ibaraki Livestock Center. On February 19th, a joint complaint was filed with the Ibaraki Prefectural Police in the names of four organizations, Japan Anti-Vivisection Association (JAVA), PEACE (Put an End to Animal Cruelty and Exploitation), Certified NPO Citizens for Animal Protection Ibaraki Network (CAPIN), and Certified NPO Animal Rights Center Japan. Acts of violence, as shown in the video below, were carried out on a daily basis. At a first glance, it might appear as though they were just trying to move animals, but it’s clear that these acts of unnecessary violence were caused…
On June 1, 2023, during a questioning of a witness at a meeting of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee, Councilor Noriko Ishigaki asked, “Is there an animal welfare problem with marbled beef?” In response to this question, Mr. Shinmura, who was invited as an expert on animal welfare, answered that there is no animal welfare issue, saying that the cattle should be raised properly and that it is a genetic factor. This is incorrect. There are a number of animal welfare issues associated with the farming practices conducted to produce marbled meat. How is marbled meat produced? It depends on limiting the intake of vitamin A, which is an…
On October 2, 2022, World Day for Farmed Animals, we partnered with the Animal Rights Center Iwate and Shiga to carry out simultaneous actions in three locations across the country. During the day, we held animal rights workshops in Shibuya, Shiga and online, followed by a demonstration in Shibuya, Shiga and Iwate at the same time. Approximately 50 animal rights activists from across Japan attended the workshop. After the lecture, participants asked many questions and their enthusiasm for their activities came through clearly.We’ realized, once again, that a lot of activists are doing their best to protect animals through trial and error. At the demonstration in Shibuya, we, with around…
Since 2016, Animal Rights Center Japan has been conducting a survey once a year using a private company to see how well the actual rearing of livestock animals is recognized by consumers. We report the results of the survey conducted in 2022 (the number of valid responses was 1,214). The questions are the following 10 items: Do you know that many of the sows are trapped in a gestation crate, a narrow enclosure in which they can’t turn around? Do you know that many of the piglets are castrated and have their teeth and tails clipped without anesthesia? Do you know that many of the chickens for eggs are kept…
If anyone believes the world is becoming a better place, think again. In terms of animal welfare, it seems to be getting worse, as we just learned how our livestock industry and the government are treating animals. It’s clear animal cruelty and violence towards humans are two sides of the same coin. However, we haven’t realized these two are closely connected as treatment of animals continues to get worse. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is trying to pass a special provision to exempt livestock animal housing from the Building Standards Act, which sets standards for properties, structure, and facilities of buildings in order to promote public welfare…
Since 2016, Animal Rights Center Japan has been conducting a survey once a year using a private company to see how well the actual rearing of livestock animals is recognized by consumers. We report the results of the survey conducted in 2021 (the number of valid replies was 1,207). The questions are the following 10 items: Do you know that many of the sows are trapped in a gestation crate, a narrow enclosure in which they can’t turn around? Do you know that many of the piglets are castrated and have their teeth and tails clipped without anesthesia? Do you know that many of the chickens for eggs are kept…
Animal cruelty, in treatment of any animals that humans deal with in society, is something that must not exist, either legally or morally, and it must be eliminated in industrial animals as well. Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment This was clarified by a question from a member of the House of Representatives, Keinin Horikoshi (Gunma), at the Environment Committee of the House of Representatives on November 17, 2020. For many, this must be taken for granted. However, in the livestock industry, animal cruelty has become commonplace, and mistaken procedures have become commonplace, and the self-cleansing action to correct them has not worked, and the animals used for livestock have…
Animal Rights Center Japan has collected signatures and submitted the petition calling for improvements to slaughterhouse animal welfare, and has worked on various slaughterhouses 1 2 3. But at the moment there is almost no information suggesting improvements. The problem of inadequate drinking water at slaughterhouses has not been solved. Animal welfare education for slaughterhouse staff is not provided, either. Dragging immobile cows with chains, not caring for lactating dairy cows (not milking etc), moving to slaughterhouse weak animals with hernia etc not suitable for transportation, twisting cows’ tails to move them… these present practices violate the animal welfare standards of the OIE (World Animal Health Organization) to which Japan is…
Stunning may not be allowed in religious slaughter, such as with Islamic halal. Animal Rights Center Japan has been addressing this issue in some cases where religious slaughter is performed in Japan without stunning. Currently (May 2020), 6 companies are performing halal slaughter of cattle for export. Halal beef export destinations are Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar (one company has meat export certification for several countries). Of these, stunning was already used for halal slaughter for Malaysia and Indonesia even before ARCJ started getting involved. Of the remaining 5 companies exporting beef to UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, 4 companies are currently using stunning. (However, some companies do not perform…
There are various support systems for the livestock industry implemented by the country, and one of them is the Comprehensive Subsidies for Developing Strong Agriculture & Leaders. As previously reported in another article, from 2018, when using this grant to establish a local meat production center (slaughterhouse for pigs, cattle, etc.), “consideration for animal welfare” has become required, and it has become necessary to install drinking water at the slaughterhouse, which ARCJ had been asking for. The vague phrase “consideration for animal welfare” is not specific and limits executive power. However, the addition of such item to the standards for the grant system is a step forward. But animal welfare…
What is Cattle’s Individual Identification Number? You may have seen “Cattle’s Individual Identification numbers” on packages when you buy Japanese beef at a supermarket. These Cattle’s Individual Identification numbers are attached to cow’s ears as well as displayed on the meat package at supermarkets. Since Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was first observed in 2001 in Japan, there has been a huge demand of traceability about where the cattle were born and transported. Thus, the Law for Special Measures Concerning the Management and Relay of Information for Individual Identification of Cattle came into effect in 2003. Consumers can obtain information of the trace by looking up the individual identification numbers displayed…
There are various support systems for the livestock industry implemented by the country, but one of them is Comprehensive Subsidies for Developing Strong Agriculture & Leaders. As previously reported in another article, from 2018, when using this grant to establish a local meat production center (slaughterhouse), consideration for animal welfare has become required. In the case of implementing the maintenance of local meat centers among livestock product processing facilities, efforts shall be made to effectively utilize the recycling of slaughter residue, etc., and handle livestock in consideration of animal welfare. Although it is not specific, it was a step forward in animal welfare that such a sentence was added to…
Mother Sows in Captivity:sow stall in Japan A rearing method which has been illegalized in many countries is still used at more than 88% of pig farms in Japan. These are photos taken between 2015 and 2017 at Japanese hog raising farms. Sows are shut in a small cage called a sow stall (gestation create). Sows spend almost all of their entire life in a cage in which they cannot walk or turn. Sows engage in abnormal behaviors such as biting their cages, continuously doing chewing motions without food in their mouths, and drinking water without stopping. The EU banned sow stalls in 2013, and ten states in America have banned them.…
It was an incredible sight. Cows are handled relatively carefully because they sell higher, the industry explains. That is not true. The calf was immersed in their waste. This is a premium branded beef’s farm in Japan. It is June 2018.
In the slaughterhouses that made requests for improvement and suggestions for improvement in 2017, a big signboard was set up to handle animals gently. The problematic treatment at this slaughter house is as follows. As a way to move pigs, the carriers and slaughter workers are doing “the often use of electric type pursuit equipment” “grasp the ear and the tail and pull it” “kick the body” “kick the face on the pig” “make a big voice like threatening” Through opportunities such as morning meetings, and they instructed the proper handling, and in order to continue the treatment, it was set up in two places where large stand posters are…
Currently, there are few drinking facilities at slaughterhouses in Japan. Cows and pigs can’t drink water on their last day*1. Motivated by the question asked by Mr. Katsuya Ogawa of the Democratic Party, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a notice about “Placement of drinking facilities for animals at slaughterhouses newly built or renovated” to all prefectures and cities with public health centers. This notice prompts drinking facilities at slaughterhouses referring to the animal welfare standard of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE.) Notice No. 0308 Article 8. March 8, 2017 To: Directors of Responsible Public Health Division (Bureau) in all prefectures and cities with public health centers From:…
Please sign petition End cruel treatment of animals at slaughterhouses in japan https://goo.gl/ky5o7D This video was filmed in 2015,Japan Please share this problem people around you. ● Carried in trucks, terrified cows are kicked from the truck, their tails are twisted or even crushed to force them to move. ● In order to make pigs move, stun-gun are used excessively. ● Pigs suffering from disease are left for an extended amount of time, then hung by the leg and dragged away. ● Animals that are carried to the slaughter house in the afternoon are not fed and are butchered the next day. They are not even given water. (They are seen drinking dirty water from the ground while they are being washed) Cruelty and inhumane actions towards animals at slaughter houses is not the responsibility of individuals. It is an issue of the system. We request the government to make an effort in stopping animal cruelty. At the least individuals and slaughter house should be made aware of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health code. *This photo is this taken in 2015 Japan. These are pigs in a holding pen waiting to be killed in the adjacent slaughterhouse. Points on slaughterhouses extracted from the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health code. ● “…mammals and ratites which are not taken directly upon arrival to the place of slaughter should have drinking water available to them from appropriate facilities at all times.” ● “Animals which have not been slaughtered within 12 hours of their arrival should be fed, and should subsequently be given moderate amounts of food at appropriate intervals.” ● “Under no circumstances should animal handlers resort to violent acts to move animals, such as crushing or breaking tails of animals, grasping their eyes or pulling them by the ears.” ● “The throwing or dropping of animals, or their lifting or dragging by body parts such as their tail, head, horns, ears, limbs, wool, hair or feathers, should not be permitted.” ● “Electric goads and prods should only be used in extreme cases and not on a routine basis to move animals. The use and the power output should be restricted to that necessary to assist movement of an animal and only when an animal has a clear path ahead to move. Goads and other aids should not be used repeatedly if the animal fails to respond or move. In such cases it should be investigated whether some physical or other impediment is preventing the animal from moving.” ● “Painful procedures (including whipping, kicking, tail twisting, use of nose twitches, pressure on eyes, ears or external genitalia), or the use of goads or other aids which cause pain and suffering (including large sticks, sticks with sharp ends, lengths of metal piping, fencing wire or heavy leather belts), should not be used to move animals.” ● “Injured or sick animals, requiring immediate slaughter, should be killed humanely and without delay” OIE Code for slaughterhouses http://www.oie.int/animal-welfare/animal-welfare-key-themes/
In February, 2014, the Danish Agriculture Minister, Dan Jorgensen, made the following comment about banning slaughtering without stunning, “Animal rights come before religion.” Workers following certain religious customs, for example, those connected to Islamic Halal and Jewish Kashrut practices, slaughter animals without first stunning them. The cutting of the carotid arteries causes extreme pain to animals that have not been stunned. Some people in Japan are slaughtering animals according to Islamic halal traditions. This practice might start in Hokkaido. During the prefectural assembly held on September 16, in the reply to the question given from Atuko Okoshi (a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Hokkaido Prefectual Assembly), the governor…
In Japan, binding regulations for animal welfare related to slaughter do not exist. Many animals in slaughterhouses are under extreme thirst. The conditions of pigs and cows in Japanese slaughterhouses (2011 Investigation conducted by Meat Hygiene Inspection Center) http://nichiju.lin.gr.jp/test/html/mag/06612/d1.pdf According to the research above, 50.4% of cows and 86.4% of pigs in slaughterhouses have no water to drink. (Only 7% of slaughterhouses kill all animals on the same day they are brought in.) No official investigations have been conducted to research conditions of chickens in slaughterhouses. However, none of the poultry processing plants we have privately visited provide food or water to chickens. We suspect no processing plants in Japan supply…
The multi-partisan parliamentary group aiming for zero killing of dogs and cats has established a project team for amending the Animal Welfare Act. Since its launch on August 25, 2023, the PT has held 21 meetings to hear from stakeholders and deliberate on the direction of amendments. Out of these 21 sessions, however, only one touched on livestock animals, and just one on laboratory animals. Despite 1 billion livestock animals being killed annually, the issue remains far from the priorities of lawmakers. In the sole PT meeting addressing livestock, the discussions showed promise, but it is unlikely to expect significant amendments by 2025 at this rate. 17th PT: Hearings on…
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