Oregon needs a moratorium on new and expanding factory farms, or at least meaningful reforms to the system that allows them, but legislators have systematically weakened a proposed moratorium bill over the last several weeks and it’s now a shell of its former self.
The moratorium proposed in the "dash 1" amendments to Senate Bill 85 has been set aside in favor of proposed "dash 4" amendments, which would make only minor regulatory tweaks to Oregon's system for permitting "confined animal feeding operations," or CAFOs. It’s not close to the bold action we’ve been demanding as part of the Stand Up to Factory Farms coalition to better protect Oregon's air, water, farm animals and family farms.
The industry has been lobbying hard against our bill, so legislators need to hear from you, too. We need bold action to stop the planned influx of factory farms – from the Easterday mega-dairy near Boardman to the proposed mega-chicken farms in the Willamette Valley.
Oregon’s existing factory farms are already wreaking havoc on animals, air and water. Factory farms subject farm animals to extreme confinement, excessive production demands and short lives. They contaminate groundwater, rivers and streams with manure. They exploit loopholes to use up our scarce groundwater resources, and they spew unregulated noxious chemicals and climate-warming methane into the air. Enough is enough – we need bold action, and we need it now.
The clock is ticking and we don’t have much time left to influence this process. Legislators need to hear from you right away. Please contact your Oregon legislators and tell them the currently proposed amendments to Senate Bill 85 are too weak and we need to do more to protect air, water and farm animals. To find out who your state representative and state senator are, and to get their contact information, go here and enter your address.
It's best to use your own words and you don't need to say anything detailed or technical, just that you want Senate Bill 85 to include a moratorium on factory farms or meaningful reforms to protect our air and water and the welfare of farm animals. For example, the bill should include at least a work group to examine animal welfare issues on factory farms and to recommend minimum care standards. The bill should also require a prohibition on new factory farms in areas where groundwater is already contaminated, buffer zones from rivers and streams, waste management plans for manure "exported" from factory farms, regulation of air pollution from factory farms, and a limit on unpermitted water use for both new and expanding factory farms.
Thank you for helping us advocate for animals!
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