New Jersey Looks to Ban Slaughter of Pregnant Animals

A couple of weeks ago, a brave
cow jumped for her life from the second level of a transport truck headed for
the slaughterhouse. The story made headlines, and the cow, now named
Brianna, was rescued by Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue in New Jersey.

What nobody knew at the time was that Brianna
was pregnant. A few days later she gave birth to her calf, Winter, at
Skylands.

Animal control officer John DeCando arrived at the scene
shortly after Brianna jumped from the transport truck. “When that cow jumped 10
feet, it destroyed the door,” he remarked. “That cow knew where she was going
and knew to protect herself and her baby, no doubt in my mind.”

DeCando realized that something had to be done, that sending
pregnant animals to slaughter was particularly egregious and needed to be
stopped. Immediately after Brianna’s rescue, he
sent a letter to legislators in New Jersey asking for someone to sponsor a bill
banning the slaughter of pregnant animals. Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly
responded and quickly introduced a bill that “would make the selling and
transporting of pregnant livestock for slaughter an animal cruelty crime.”
State senator Nellie Pou, who said she was shocked to hear of pregnant animals
being slaughtered, will introduce similar legislation.

Sadly, pregnant cows, pigs, and other animals exploited in
the factory farming industry are treated appallingly. In the pork industry,
mother pigs spend nearly their entire lives in gestation crates, cruel cages
where they can’t even turn around or fully extend their limbs. And for dairy,
cows regularly have their newborn calves stolen from them.