- 14 Mar 2002
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This is how poultry should be kept:
A chicken farm in the US (photo credit: Reuters)
And this is how chicken have been kept for decades in Japan:
And here's why:
¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
If it was up to Japan's poultry industry these miserable conditions would be preserved for decades to come. The bribery scandal involving the former Minister of Agriculture, Takamori Yoshikawa, could stir a renewed debate about animal welfare: "A recent graft scandal involving a former agricultural minister has catapulted the issue of animal welfare into the spotlight, illustrating the great lengths to which the nation's poultry industry went to preserve its decades-old yet globally criticized practise of confining egg-laying hens in small cages. Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takamori Yoshikawa is in hot water amid allegations that he received ¥5 million in undeclared donations from a former head of Akita Foods Co. - a poultry giant based in Hiroshima Prefecture - several times during his stint as farm minister from October 2018 to September 2019. The donations to Yoshikawa coincided with growing international calls for animal welfare that many domestic farmers at the time saw as incompatible with, and even as an existential threat to, Japan's poultry businesses."
The fallout from the scandal continued to grow Tuesday when Koya Nishikawa, also a former farm minister, suddenly resigned as a special Cabinet adviser amid criticism over his own intimate ties with Akita Foods.
A chicken farm in the US (photo credit: Reuters)
And this is how chicken have been kept for decades in Japan:
And here's why:
¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
If it was up to Japan's poultry industry these miserable conditions would be preserved for decades to come. The bribery scandal involving the former Minister of Agriculture, Takamori Yoshikawa, could stir a renewed debate about animal welfare: "A recent graft scandal involving a former agricultural minister has catapulted the issue of animal welfare into the spotlight, illustrating the great lengths to which the nation's poultry industry went to preserve its decades-old yet globally criticized practise of confining egg-laying hens in small cages. Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takamori Yoshikawa is in hot water amid allegations that he received ¥5 million in undeclared donations from a former head of Akita Foods Co. - a poultry giant based in Hiroshima Prefecture - several times during his stint as farm minister from October 2018 to September 2019. The donations to Yoshikawa coincided with growing international calls for animal welfare that many domestic farmers at the time saw as incompatible with, and even as an existential threat to, Japan's poultry businesses."
Conventional battery cages often involve multiple hens being packed into a small wire cage, where they are unable to move around or extend their wings. The European Food Safety Authority has stated that these housing systems leave hens susceptible to disease, bone breakage and harmful pecking. The global trend is now increasingly toward abolishing them. The most prominent turning point in recent years was a full-fledged ban on battery cages put in place by the European Union in 2012. With the ban, many farmers in the EU have transitioned to so-called enriched cages that allow space for perches and nesting boxes. In a greater stride toward animal welfare, there has even been a growing shift in and beyond the EU toward fully parting with cages, with more and more farmers opting for free range or barn rearing systems.
Former agricultural minister’s graft scandal sparks conversation about animal welfare in Japan
Allegations of bribery illustrate the lengths to which the poultry industry went to preserve its decades-old, yet globally criticized practice of confining egg-laying hens in small cages.
www.japantimes.co.jp
The fallout from the scandal continued to grow Tuesday when Koya Nishikawa, also a former farm minister, suddenly resigned as a special Cabinet adviser amid criticism over his own intimate ties with Akita Foods.
Cabinet adviser Koya Nishikawa resigns following shady boating trip
The former head of Akita Foods has said he hosted Nishikawa on an outing on the company yacht in July.
www.japantimes.co.jp