Humane Voters Oregon recently joined 21 other groups in asking the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to regulate air pollution from large factory dairies in Oregon. DEQ is now taking public comments on the proposal. Please join us in asking DEQ to regulate this significant source of air pollution.
In addition to treating animals inhumanely, large factory dairies pollute our air, warm our climate, and threaten our health. They produce toxic air pollutants like ammonia and fuel climate change by emitting huge amounts of methane. Regulating these emissions would help people and would also lead to more humane treatment of animals by discouraging high concentration and intensive confinement of dairy cows, by incentivizing more humane production methods such as pasture grazing, by reducing harm to animals from climate change, and of course by making the air cleaner for dairy cows and for other animals in the areas around the dairies.
That's why we joined other groups in filing a "petition" with DEQ asking for new administrative rules to regulate air emissions from large dairy factory farms in Oregon. Please help us urge DEQ to approve the petition by submitting your comments before 4 p.m. October 23.
It's best to use your own words so your comments are unique, even if it's just a sentence or two, but you can use any of the talking points above or say something as simple as: "Please adopt new rules to regulate air pollution from large factory dairies in Oregon. Large factory dairies are a signficant source of air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, and they have avoided regulation for too long."
For more information and a link to submit your comments, go here. You can also email your comments to: DairyAir.Petition@deq.oregon.gov.
Thank you for helping us advocate for animals in Oregon!