AVMA Ends Support for Cruel Starvation of Hens!

July 2004

At their annual convention, members of the Chicago-based American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) voted to end the AVMA’s support of “forced molting,” the factory-farming practice of starving hens for up to two weeks to induce an additional egg-laying cycle. Members of PETA, United Poultry Concerns (UPC), and other animal protection groups have been protesting the AVMA at its conventions for putting the economic interests of big agribusiness first and animal welfare second. While the new resolution, which states that “neither water nor food should be withdrawn” will ensure more humane conditions for millions of laying hens in the United States, the AVMA continues to condone other equally cruel practices, such as the use of gestation crates and the force-feeding of ducks and geese in foie gras production.