Public image | Despite a growing chorus of criticism in media, an anti-activist group says popular opinion is on farmers’ side
Ryan Gosling and his dog, George, recently weighed in on the controversial issue of gestation crates.
The famous Canadian actor thinks farmers shouldn’t be allowed to put sows into gestation crates for even a few weeks before being moved into open housing.
Any time in confinement for an animal is “something I would never dream of doing to George and that no compassionate Canadian would ever do to any animal,” he wrote in an opinion piece printed in The Globe and Mail July 11.
Gosling has a lot of star power and the ability to move the emotions of ordinary consumers and citizens, which is something animal rights organizations have been adept at doing in the struggle over sow stalls.
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However, farmers and others shouldn’t assume that the fight for public opinion is over, says an aggressive anti-activist organization.
Public opinion can be swayed by the way activists and celebrities represent an issue, but can be swayed the other way by aggressively fighting back, says a researcher with the Center for Consumer Freedom.
“You can’t cede ground to the activists,” said Will Coggin, who oversaw a poll that assessed Canadian consumer views on sow stalls.
“You have to go out and talk to the public, to retailers, and say, ‘here’s our side of the story.’ ”
Coggin said a poll conducted by the Center’s Humane Watch found that Canadian consumers who slightly disapprove of sow stalls will change their attitudes if they are told that farmers and veterinarians support stalls as a way to protect animals from bullying each other.
“We decided to give consumers the info that, ‘hey, there’s another side to the story,’ ” said Coggin.
“We found that overwhelmingly Canadians do support individual sow housing.”
The survey of 1,003 people found that 63 percent of Canadian consumers supported stall use after being told that both farmers and veterinarians support using stalls, with 26 percent supporting it strongly.
Only seven percent of people were strongly opposed to stalls and eight percent were moderately opposed.
Coggin said the results prove that the sow stall debate is not over and that public attitudes are still open.
However, farmers must present their case to the public before it adopts the animal activist viewpoint, he added.
“You’ve got to take the offensive here. That’s what the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International is trying to do here: take the offensive and control the message, presenting only one side of the story,” said Coggin.
Gosling’s opinion piece championed the call of some animal rights organizations that disagree with any stall use at all, even immediately after insemination when stalls are proven to greatly reduce miscarriages.
