When veterinarians fail animals

Why is America’s leading veterinary association supporting farmed animal suffering?

Most of us think of veterinarians as people who relieve animal suffering. We take our dogs, cats, and other “companion animals” to them because we trust them to see animals as sentient beings who can feel pain, fear, and distress.

Yet in the USA, the largest and oldest national association of veterinarians is, astonishingly, supporting a proposed federal law that would wipe out state laws providing better living conditions for the animals who suffer most in our food system: factory-farmed pigs, calves, and hens. That may seem hard to believe, but it’s true.

The American Veterinary Medical Association, or AVMA, is the leading professional association for veterinarians in the United States. It has more than 110,000 veterinarian members and presents itself as a “member-run, member-driven association.” Yet it has sent a letter to the Agriculture committee of the U.S. House of Representatives expressing “strong support” for language in the U.S. Farm Bill that would undermine state laws protecting farmed animals from extreme confinement.

For readers outside the United States, the Farm Bill is a major federal law that sets agricultural and food policy. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a version of the bill that included language from the so-called Save Our Bacon Act. The name is revealing. It is not called the “Save Our Pigs Act” for a reason. Its sole purpose is to protect the pork industry from laws that limit extreme confinement of pigs.

I wrote about this issue earlier this month, sharing Nicholas Kristof’s powerful New York Times column called “What the Meat Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know”.

Since then, there has been an encouraging development: the Senate Agriculture Committee has released a draft Farm Bill that does not include the Save Our Bacon Act language. But the fight is far from over. The House and Senate versions still need to be reconciled, and the pork industry is likely to keep pressing for federal language that would wipe out state-level protections for farmed animals.

That makes the AVMA’s position especially important.

Veterinarians should be among the strongest voices against extreme confinement. They know, better than most people, that pigs and other farmed animals are sentient beings with physical and psychological needs. They should not be defending systems that keep animals in crates so small they cannot even turn around.

Animal Welfare Institute’s statement (attached below) raises serious concerns not only about the substance of the AVMA’s position, but also about how it was adopted. It has seen no evidence that AVMA members were given an opportunity to review or comment on the letter. AVMA also does not appear to have posted the letter on its own website, and the only place the letter appears to be available online is, ironically, on the website of the National Pork Producers Council.

The AVMA’s behavior is a betrayal of everything the veterinary profession should stand for.

If Janet D. Donlin, the AVMA’s Chief Executive Officer, sent the statement of support for this legislation without approval from the AVMA Board of Directors, the board should fire her. If, on the other hand, the Board of Directors approved the statement, then the board should resign.

Below, I am publishing the Animal Welfare Institute’s statement in full. It deserves close attention from veterinarians, AVMA members, animal advocates, and anyone who believes that the profession devoted to animal welfare should not be lending its support to laws that benefit pork producers but are bad for pigs.

American veterinarians who really care about animals need to speak up against the AVMA’s misuse of the moral authority of the veterinary profession.

U.S. readers should tell their senators to keep the final Farm Bill free of any attack on state animal welfare laws. ASPCA has made it easy to send a message. If you are in the US, please do so now.

---

AWI Calls on AVMA to Withdraw Support for “Save Our Bacon Act” Language

Veterinary association’s endorsement of bill text has murky origins; little public disclosure

June 26, 2026

Washington, DC—Following the ardent endorsement by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) of a harmful Farm Bill provision that could negatively impact the welfare of countless farmed animals, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent the AVMA a letter expressing concerns regarding the accuracy, consistency, and transparency of its position and requesting that it publicly withdraw support for the provision. More than a month has now passed and AWI has yet to receive a response.

AWI’s correspondence, sent May 18, was prompted by an AVMA letter delivered to the US House Committee on Agriculture in April expressing “strong support” for Section 12006 of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (“Farm Bill”). This section of the Farm Bill includes language from the so-called Save Our Bacon Act (H.R. 4673), legislation that would undermine voter-approved farmed animal protection laws such as California’s Proposition 12, which prohibits the in-state production and sale of certain products from farmed animals held in intensive confinement. The AVMA sent a similar message to the committee in May 2024.

The AVMA’s communication claims to have been sent on behalf of—and informed by—the association’s more than 110,000 veterinarian members. Yet, AWI has seen no evidence indicating that the AVMA—which bills itself as a “member-run, member-driven association”—provided an opportunity for its members to review or comment on the letter. Furthermore, the organization does not mention or link to the letter in any of the materials on its website discussing the Farm Bill. Indeed, the only place the AVMA’s letter appears to be posted online is on the website of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).

The letter is also inconsistent with the AVMA’s own sow housing policy, which the organization revised just last year. The resolution accompanying the updated policy says the AVMA “encourages current movement within the swine industry toward group housing.” Yet, the AVMA’s letter expresses opposition to Proposition 12—a law that has demonstrably encouraged movement within the swine industry toward group housing.

In addition to asking the AVMA to withdraw support for Section 12006 of the House Farm Bill, AWI’s letter—which was directly emailed to the AVMA’s officers, board of directors, and members of its animal welfare committee—urged the organization to explain to its members and the public what process was used to develop and approve its April 2026 and May 2024 letters, what involvement the NPPC had in developing the letters, and how repeatedly expressing support for a law that would relegate animals to cramped crates is consistent with the AVMA’s policies and values.

“It is remarkable that the AVMA—apparently absent virtually any involvement from its own members—has repeatedly sent letters to Congress in support of a law that would relegate farmed animals to cages so small they cannot even turn around,” said Susan Millward, AWI executive director and CEO. “Tellingly, the AVMA appears unwilling to publicly acknowledge its position. The organization owes AWI a response and owes its members, and the public, an explanation.”

In April, the House of Representatives passed a draft of the Farm Bill that included Section 12006. Earlier this week, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry released draft text of a Senate version of the Farm Bill that, notably, excludes the Save Our Bacon Act or any similar language that seeks to override state animal welfare laws. Such exclusion demonstrates the controversial nature of this provision and the lack of support it has among members of Congress.

Though this development in the Senate is promising, this fight is far from over, and the pork industry is likely to intensify its efforts to influence both Congress and the AVMA in the months ahead. Advocates can help counteract the AVMA’s harmful position by urging their senators to oppose inclusion of any provisions in the Farm Bill that would eliminate state farmed animal protections. AVMA members may contact their representatives on the AVMA Board of Directors and House of Delegates to demand transparency and urge their support for withdrawing the AVMA’s endorsement of this cruel language.

Media Contact Information

Kim Meneo, Animal Welfare Institute
kim@awionline.org, (202) 446-2116

About AWI

The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.