Singer to rally for farm animal rights

A group of leading animal rights activists will gather in Trenton on Sunday for the Factory Farming Forum and Rally.

The conference will feature various speakers, including bioethics professor Peter Singer of the University Center for Human Values. The group will also hold a rally in front of the state capitol building on Monday.

New Jersey is the only state to pass legislation requiring the development of standards for the ethical raising of farm animals, but so far, no standards have been developed.

The group of activists, which includes Farm Sanctuary founders Gene and Lorri Bauston, actress Mary Tyler Moore and former cattle rancher turned animal rights advocate Howard Lyman, planned the forum and rally to move the legislation forward.

If it proceeds as planned, New Jersey will be the first state to adopt standards for the humane treatment of farm animals.

The animal rights group seeks to outlaw — among other farming practices — veal crates for calves and battery cages for hens. Both implements severely restrict the movement of the animals, activists say.

Singer, author of "Animal Liberation" and an outspoken animal rights advocate, said better standards could help, rather than hinder, the state's farmers.

"A lot of farmers are decent people and don't like to treat their animals badly," he said, adding that many would welcome clear standards and that such laws would benefit the state.

Singer used a fast food analogy to explain how breakthrough legislation in New Jersey could sway other states to follow suit. Industry giant McDonald's has taken positive steps in regulating their egg supply, he said, and its rival Burger King has responded by doing the same.

"We're not talking about radical standards [that would put] farmers out of business," he said.

In his speech at the convention, Singer plans to compare the farm animal situation in the United States to the situation in Europe, which has much tighter guidelines for the humane treatment of animals.

Students interested in animal issues have talked to Singer, he said, though there are no student groups at the University devoted specifically to the issue.

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The conference has set its fee at $70 per person, but students can go for $25.

Singer, who hopes students will attend, emphasized that the conference, and animal rights, are not only for extremists.

"Whether you eat meat or not, most [people] would like to know that the meat they're eating did not suffer," he said. "This is not a radical animal rights conference and rally. It's just saying let's get some decent animal rights standards."