The following table and charts depict the extent of land animal slaughter and meat production from 1961 to 2016. They are based on data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank. The FAO does not publish figures for all species, as referred to in the notes, but hopefully the information gives some of idea of the staggering, almost unimaginable scale of the animal holocaust.
These figures are for Australia. Please see other pages for tables and charts for the World, Canada, China, New Zealand, UK and the USA.
Some background
Other than for drinking, producers are not required by law to provide ducks with water. Depriving aquatic birds of water represents the epitome of cruelty, creating horrendous physical and psychological trauma.
In the words of animal rights campaign group, Aussie Farms: “Ducks are aquatic birds, so they naturally have weak leg and thigh joints as they do not normally need to hold their body weight for extended periods of time. . . . when water is denied . . . ducks must hold their entire body weight on their legs for up to 7 weeks (and often much longer periods of time for ducks kept for breeding), resulting in lameness, dislocated joints and broken bones.”
Images courtesy of aussieducks.com.au
Video on Australian animal slaughter (77 seconds, non-graphic)
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