HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
109 |
TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING FARM ANIMALS AS SENTIENT BEINGS TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND PROTECTED FROM INHUMANE TREATMENT.
WHEREAS, over nine billion animals are used for food production in the United States every year; and
WHEREAS, farm animals have been looked at as merely breakfast or dinner, arriving in sterile-looking plastic wrapped packages on grocery shelves, and have therefore rarely been considered as needing legal protections; and
WHEREAS, it is undeniable that farm animals are capable of awareness, feeling, and suffering and are therefore sentient beings; and
WHEREAS, human beings have an ethical obligation to refrain from causing pain and suffering to all sentient beings, not just humans; and
WHEREAS, this obligation is not only beneficial to the animals but improves society's well-being by raising our ethical standards and establishing an example of kindness and caring; and
WHEREAS, in Hawaii, cruelty to animals is a misdemeanor, pursuant to section 711-1108, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, nationwide, some sectors of the agribusiness industry subject cattle, pigs, chickens, and other farm animals to overcrowding, intensive confinement, and other conditions causing them pain and suffering; and
WHEREAS, many other countries have passed laws to prevent cruel farming practices; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the State declares farm animals to be sentient beings to be treated with respect and protected from inhumane treatment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.
OFFERED BY: |
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Report Title:
RECOGNIZING FARM ANIMALS AS SENTIENT BEINGS