Humane Society Chief Seeks Seat on Big Meat Producer’s Board

The head of the Humane Society of the United States said Tuesday that he is running for a spot on the Tyson Food board of directors in hopes of enlisting the country’s second-largest pork processor in efforts to alter farms’ treatment of pregnant pigs, says the Associated Press.

The animal-welfare group has campaigned against the use of cramped cages for sows and successfully persuaded McDonald’s, Safeway, and other major meat buyers to stop procuring pork from farms that use the “gestation crates.”

“It’s one thing to be on the outside and asking for animal-welfare concerns to be elevated within the company. It’s another thing to try to do it from the inside,” Humane Society President and CEO Wayne Pacelle said, while acknowledging he had little chance of being elected to the Tyson board in a shareholder vote.

Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for the Springdale, Ark., company said it is committed to humane treatment of animals. He said the firm buys from some farms that use the crates and others that use group pens and “experts believe both housing systems are humane for mother pigs when managed properly.”

The Humane Society has also put pressure on Smithfield Foods, a major Tyson competitor, which has agreed to phase out use of the crates. Critics say the enclosures, generally measuring 2 feet by 7 feet, do not have enough room for pregnant pigs to turn around or lie on their sides.