FALL 2025 NEWSLETTER
Farms of the Future
On October 18, 2025, the Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare hosted a free virtual symposium where leading voices from research, veterinary care, industry, and farms—including Kipster Farm—shared how to create higher-welfare living environments. It was an inspiring day of ideas, innovation, and practical solutions that brought animal welfare science to life, with talks focused on pigs, chickens, and cows used in dairy production. One session focused on Kipster Farm, a company that is part of a growing movement to reimagine what higher-welfare farming can look like. In June, VAFAW board member and Director of Education, Dr. Abby Zoltick, toured a Kipster egg farm in Indiana as part of the American College of Animal Welfare conference. Kipster is known for its transparency and commitment to animal welfare and environmental sustainability. “Chickens were foraging, dust bathing, perching, pecking at toys, and exploring,” Abby said. “Although the outdoor garden was closed to protect the birds from HPAI, the farm’s design ensured their welfare didn’t suffer. Kipster is an example of how farms can give animals not only what they need but also what they want, while remaining profitable.”
Watch a replay of the VAFAW-hosted symposium on higher-welfare living environments HERE.
Photo: Kipster Farm, Indiana
WEBINAR SERIES
RECAP: Recognizing and Managing Pain in Cattle (July 16, 2025)
In July, VAFAW hosted a webinar on recognizing and improving pain in cattle. Painful management procedures and disease conditions are common in cattle production systems. Dr. Eduarda Bortoluzzi, an animal welfare professor and scientist, presented on the fundamentals of pain management, emerging pain detection methodologies, and the development of pain models to achieve more effective and scientifically grounded pain relief. This was the second webinar in our series on preventing and mitigating pain in farm animals.
Watch a replay of the webinar HERE.
RECAP: VAFAW-Hosted Full-Day Virtual Symposium on Achieving Higher-Welfare Living Environments for Farm Animals (Oct. 18, 2025)
Seven expert speakers participated in an all-day virtual symposium hosted by VAFAW in October about achieving higher-welfare living environments for farm animals. Animal welfare scientists and industry experts shared insights on bridging the gap between research and on-farm practices for dairy cows, sows, and chickens. This event supports our work to promote living environments that meet the animals’ physical and psychological needs.
Watch a replay video of the symposium HERE.
VAFAW ATTENDS AVMA CONVENTION
VAFAW traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 2025 AVMA Convention in July. The event provided an opportunity to connect with VAFAW members and others who are passionate about improving farm animal welfare. Visitors to our booth expressed enthusiasm and support for the work we have been doing, especially the excellent webinars!
VAFAW ADVOCACY: SEEKING CHANGE
Using the Veterinary Voice to Protect Prop 12.
After the Supreme Court declined to strike down Prop. 12 (a ballot measure passed in California in 2018 to ban intensively confined housing systems for pregnant sows), the fight to undo its protections continues to unfold in Congress. VAFAW is working to make sure those efforts are unsuccessful. A range of federal bills have been introduced over the years that would preempt laws like California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, which incorporate an in-state sales ban on pork from pigs raised in intensively confined systems. Failed attempts to pass the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act, known as the EATS Act, have led to two new bills: the Save Our Bacon Act and the Food Security and Farm Protection Act. Both would nullify state laws that ban the sale of pork produced using gestation crates. In May 2024, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) sent a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture endorsing legislation that would preempt Prop. 12 and Question 3. That letter has also been posted on the National Pork Producers Council’s website. However, a recently adopted AVMA policy on sow housing calls into question that position. According to the new AVMA policy, “sow housing and management should allow sows and piglets to express highly-motivated behaviors while avoiding or minimizing expression of abnormal repetitive behaviors and aggression.” Modern science demonstrates the inability of gestation crates to permit expression of nearly all highly motivated behaviors; thus, housing sows in gestation crates would not meet the recommendations in the new policy. VAFAW is working alongside more than a dozen coalition partners to highlight the devastating impact these federal efforts would have on animal welfare. We sent a letter to members of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture stating opposition to federal preemption efforts and pushing back on claims that the veterinary profession believes gestation crates are acceptable.
VAFAW’s letter to members of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture is HERE.
AVMA’s (May 2024) letter endorsing preemption efforts is HERE.
New AVMA policy on sow housing is HERE.
Federal legislation preempting Prop. 12/Question 3
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Past effort: Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act (S. 2019/H.R. 4417) – bill language.
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Current effort in the House: Save Our Bacon Act (H.R. 4673) - press release and bill language.
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Current effort in the Senate: Food Security and Farm Protection Act (S. 1326) - press release and bill language.
U.S. House Committee on Agriculture hearing on July 23 about the consequences of Prop. 12. Comments about veterinary opposition to Prop. 12 are at 00:10:50, 2:31:00, and 2:54:30 time marks.
AJVR Publishes VAFAW Letter Raising Concerns About Depopulation Study
VAFAW submitted a letter to the editor of the American Journal of Veterinary Research, raising concerns about a study that appeared designed to ease concerns about the negative animal welfare impacts of depopulating (mass killing) animals by smothering them with water-based foam (WBF). WBF kills by airway occlusion, resulting in obstructive asphyxia. Several international organizations have likened WBF to drowning because both likely result in similar experiences for the animals. Both drowning and WBF lead to increased blood carbon dioxide levels, resulting in a strongly increased drive to breathe, while preventing lung inflation. This likely results in animals experiencing air hunger (a type of dyspnea), fear, anxiety, panic, and frustration, which persist until loss of consciousness. The study neglected these concerns, focusing only on the differences in CT imaging and histopathology findings in anesthetized animals killed by different methods. The paper seemed intent on downplaying the crucial differences between WBF and a higher-welfare depopulation method, high-expansion nitrogen foam (HENF or N2F). HENF does not occlude the airway, and human subjects submerged in a high-expansion foam matrix with ambient air report no aversive effects (see video link below). HENF results in animals rapidly losing consciousness via exposure to an oxygen-free environment. Unlike drowning or obstructive asphyxia, nitrogen anoxia is considered a method of euthanasia for pigs and poultry by the AVMA.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners Updates Disbudding/Dehorning Guidelines, Incorporates Feedback from VAFAW
In November 2024, VAFAW responded to the American Association of Bovine Practitioners’ (AABP) request for comments on its “Disbudding/Dehorning Guidelines,” which were up for regular review. These guidelines strongly influence animal care standards in the beef and dairy industry. In a letter to the Review Committee, VAFAW urged several key revisions, including recommendations for multiple dosing protocols for systemic pain relief. AABP recently released its updated guidelines, which now include a statement that additional NSAID doses “may be beneficial during the healing process.” Furthermore, the guidelines now specifically state that “[m]ultimodal pain management […] provides better welfare than individual methods alone and should be utilized when possible.” Local anesthesia and systemic pain relief are critical to pain prevention and mitigation in disbudded calves. Although not all the suggested revisions were integrated into the final AABP recommendations, VAFAW acknowledges that this is a step in the right direction.
Read the VAFAW comment letter HERE.
Read the AABP updated guidelines HERE.
Technology Breakthrough Brings Higher-Welfare Eggs to Market
New technology that determines the sex of chickens before hatching is improving animal welfare by reducing the number of male chicks born and then immediately culled, a near-universal practice in the commercial egg industry. In-ovo sexing is becoming more popular in Europe and has now reached Brazil. In the U.S., NestFresh has eggs laid by in-ovo sexed hens on shelves now, with Kipster expecting to follow suit in early 2026.
New Swiss Regulations: Food Labels and Painful Farming Procedures
The Swiss federal government has begun enforcing an ordinance requiring labeling of meat, eggs, and foie gras to specify whether certain inhumane practices were part of the production process. Animal products derived from cattle, pigs, chickens, or turkeys must be labeled “produced with pain-causing interventions without pain relief” if any of the following were performed without any pain mitigation: castration, dehorning/disbudding, tail docking, teeth trimming, and partial beak amputation (alteration of the beak that involves more than removal of the hook of the upper beak at 1–2 days of age). Foie gras must also be labeled as “derived from force-fed ducks” if produced using this practice. The ordinance applies to restaurants and retail food outlets and allows for a two-year transition period. In Switzerland, farmers are subject to even stronger restrictions on these practices; for example, partial beak amputation, tail docking, and teeth clipping are prohibited, and procedures like castration and disbudding require 1) either general or local anesthesia and 2) post-operative pain management. Force-feeding for foie gras production has been banned since 1978. Therefore, the new labeling requirement will primarily impact imported products.
Read an article HERE.
Sweden Goes Cage Free for Laying Hens
Sweden has successfully eliminated the use of battery cages for laying hens. This achievement represents the culmination of a back-and-forth struggle that began in 1988, when 95% of laying hens in Sweden were confined in battery cages. It was brought about not by legal restriction but by convincing large corporate retailers that caging hens is inhumane. Consumer pressure on egg producers resulted in their voluntary abandonment of battery caging for hens. So far, Sweden is the only country in the world to go cage free without a legislative prohibition.
WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE
This summary of an external study* explores how U.S. beef and dairy producers and veterinarians perceive pain in cows and how these views affect the use of pain relief during procedures like castration, dehorning, and branding. Based on over 1,100 survey responses, researchers found that producers generally rated these procedures as less painful than veterinarians, with women tending to rate pain higher than men. Misconceptions, such as believing young calves feel less pain, lead to inadequate pain relief despite scientific evidence to the contrary. The researchers emphasize that better communication, increased empathy, and stronger legislation are needed to enhance cow welfare, and that pain management relies on recognizing pain.
Read the Faunalytics article HERE.
*Edwards-Callaway et al. (2023). Frontiers in Pain Research, 4:1059224. Article is HERE.
The Insect Question: One article on insects as food, the other on their capacity to feel pain.
Don’t Like Eating Insects? Your Pet Might
Emily Anthes, The New York Times
This article explores how insect-based proteins and lab-grown meats are emerging as promising, more sustainable, and ethical alternatives for feeding pets, with potential environmental benefits given the resource intensity of conventional pet food derived from livestock. Ensuring balanced nutrition is complex: Research has shown that some insect-based foods have inaccurate labels or lack key nutrients. Currently, insect-based and lab-grown pet foods are priced higher than traditional options, posing a challenge for broader adoption. Studies show that many pet owners are open to feeding these proteins to their pets, even if they themselves wouldn’t eat them. Pet food may serve as a practical proving ground for alternative proteins that struggle for broader acceptance in human diets. Widespread impact depends on scaling production, reducing costs, and effective consumer outreach.
Read the full article HERE.
The Case for Insect Consciousness
Bob Fischer, Asterisk
The author, a professor of philosophy at Texas State University, looks at the evidence for insects being able to feel pain. Along the way, he considers the meaning of sentience (the capacity to have positive and negative feelings) and the difference between nociception (the physiologic detection of tissue damage) and pain (the subjective experience variably attendant to nociception). He concludes that the evidence provided by behavioral, anatomic, pharmacologic, and evolutionary studies is “uncomfortably strong that insects feel pain” and that “if animal welfare is on our radar, then insect welfare should be there too.”
Read the full article HERE.
SPOTLIGHT ON VAFAW LEADERS
We’re excited to recognize some standout accomplishments from our VAFAW team.
VAFAW Director of Education, Dr. Abby Zoltick, has scored a professional triple win! Since the last newsletter, she has become a diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare, joined the VAFAW Board of Directors, and published a peer-reviewed article as lead author. The article describes how domestic sows retain wild maternal behaviors and how restricting these behaviors in intensive housing harms welfare. This highlights the importance of behavioral science in crafting policies like California’s Proposition 12. Read Abby’s paper “Nature guiding how we nurture: Using the behavioral ecology of the domestic sow to advance welfare legislation,” co-authored with Jennifer Punt and Jeremy Marchant, here.
Board member Dr. Barry Kipperman has assumed the role of Board Chair, bringing his vision and dedication to this new leadership position.
Congratulations to Abby and Barry!
PHILOSOPHER'S CORNER
By Kate Brelje, MA, PhD, VAFAW Philosopher In Residence. What does philosophy have to do with animal welfare? A lot! Philosophy is the study of wisdom, and while that might sound vague, one of the things that veterinarians deal with daily is making ethical choices. Wisdom is required for those choices. As philosopher in residence at VAFAW, I will bridge the veterinary ethics perspectives with the philosophical ones. Some philosophers can broaden common debates in veterinary ethics and highlight alternatives beyond black-and-white choices. By creating more space for diverse thought and providing more possibilities, VAFAW can be a leading voice with novel solutions to the difficult problems that veterinarians face in agriculture. For example, in the development of VAFAW’s forthcoming Animal Welfare Statement, I moderated workshops where we, as a diverse group of practitioners and thinkers, were able to agree on a statement that both defines how VAFAW understands animal welfare and emphasizes our goal of prioritizing positive welfare for all farm animals. In the future, this corner of the newsletter will address philosophical concepts related to veterinary medicine, share the work of philosophers useful for veterinary ethics, and more.
A QUESTION FOR YOU
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