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The government has bowed to consumer pressure and will phase out controversial sow stalls two years earlier than planned.
A new code governing the welfare and treatment of pigs on New Zealand farms reveals the cramped gestation crates will now be gone by December 2015, rather than 2017.
Agriculture Minister David Carter released the new welfare code for the animals today and said New Zealand is now leading the way on pig welfare, with the support of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board (NZ Pork).
Use of sow stalls on New Zealand pig farms is to be limited to
four weeks after mating, in 2012, and prohibited by December 3,
2015, Carter said.
Undercover footage inside a pig farm - filmed by animal rights
group Open Rescue - caused national outrage when it screened in May
last year on TVNZ's Sunday programme. It was fronted by one-time
pork advocate, comedian Mike King.
King broke into a crate pig farm with animal activists and said pigs were caged in so tightly together they were unable to move and were screaming and frothing at the mouth.
The footage was shown to Carter, who said he was not aware of the extent to which pigs were confined.
However a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry investigator found animal welfare laws were not broken at the well managed piggery.
Hans Kriek, director of Save Animals From Exploitation, said at the time sow crate farming was widespread. He said about 45% of New Zealand's sows, or 22,000 animals, were kept in crates but the law gave farmers legal protection to be cruel to animals.
As a result, the government launched an investigation into the use of sow crates.
NZ Pork rejected the claims made in the programme, saying intensive farming was the only way it could remain competitive, and changing from crates and stalls would cost millions of dollars.
It released a statement referring to the Sunday report as unbalanced, misleading and alarmist and said sow stalls could, in fact, improve animal welfare by temporarily isolating aggressive sows during early pregnancy.
It estimated less than 10% of pigs farmed in New Zealand spent more than six weeks in sow stalls. Last December it threatened legal action which delayed the release of the new welfare code.
But Carter said today that worldwide there was " increasing
opposition to highly intensive systems of pig farming and New
Zealand has a role to play in leading the way".
Weight was added to the fight against sow stalls last month,
when Kathmandu founder
Jan Cameron told Sunday she was donating $2
million to save animals from cruelty. She said she wanted an end to
sow stalls and caged chicken farming.
NZ Pork chairman Chris Tengrove and CEO Sam McIvor said today the company is happy to work alongside the government and the National Animal Welfare Committee (NAWAC) in improving pigs' welfare standards.
"Today's collaboration places New Zealand pork producers at the forefront of global animal welfare," a statement said.
"We recognise that this issue is no longer just a scientific argument of whether or not gestation stalls are better for sow welfare. Consumers prefer gestation stalls are not used - we have listened and we are making a change and removing them," NZ Pork said.
Assistance for farmers
The new pig welfare code will see the crates phased out by 2015
- but at a cost estimated by NZ Pork to exceed about $20 million.
The Australian pork industry recently voted to voluntarily phase
out the sow crates by 2017.
The government has signalled it will provide assistance for
farmers to help reduce those costs over the phase-out period.
The company said the move will require pig farmers to be paid higher prices for locally produced pork, bacon and ham, and said it hoped retailers would support the initiative by not stocking imported pig products farmed in gestation stalls.
Farmers will be individually responsible for picking new housing options, and NZ Pork said it is confident they will meet the deadline.
Agricultural analysts have said banning sow stalls would cause
price rises of up to 4.7% in pork, and there might be a drop in pig
production of between 3.1% and 6.7%, with half a dozen farmers
exiting the industry.
But the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has said the net
cost of up to $3.9m will be borne by consumers through higher
prices and reduced consumption of pork.
Some farms relying on sow stalls would be hurt and quit the
industry, and the non-stall farms - probably using group housing -
would earn higher prices for their meat.
Carter said there was an opportunity for the pork industry to position itself as adopting some of the toughest welfare conditions in the world, and to persuade consumers to buy pork produced with humane methods.
Safe and Greens welcomes decision
Safe has campaigned for three years to end sow stalls and farrowing crates and said it welcomes today's announcement.
"Safe is delighted the government has finally accepted that sow stalls are cruel and in breach of welfare legislation," said Kriek.
However the organisation said it was disappointed that the ban excluded farrowing crates, which they say is an equally cruel confinement system. Farrowing crates are slightly wider so a sow can lie down to give birth.
"The five-year phase-out period, however, still means that over 15,000 sows will continue to suffer in sow stalls until 2016. It is great to know sow stalls are finally going after so much lobbying and campaigning but we remain mindful that pigs are not yet free," he said Kriek.
He said the organisation would continue to lobby for a ban on farrowing crates.
And Kriek said supermarkets must start taking some responsibility for how animals are being raised on factory farms.
"Consumers don't want pork products produced on factory farms and it is time supermarkets heeded the wishes of the New Zealand public," he said.
The Greens also welcomed the law change.
"Public opinion has forced the Government to ban sow crates, despite huge pressure from the Pork Industry Board to keep them indefinitely," Green Party Animal Welfare spokesperson Sue Kedgley said.
"The strength of the public's reaction against the television exposé last year-showing pigs locked in cages, chewing bars and looking demented, with festering sores on them - forced the government's hand, and they had no alternative but to get rid of them."
Kedgley, who has campaigned against the crates for a decade, said the phase-out period was still too long, but it was still wonderful to think that keeping sows in cages will become a thing of the past.
Kedgley said the challenge now was to ensure that once the ban
was in place, no imported pork from caged pigs should be allowed
into New Zealand.
Sow stalls are used in North America - including Canada, the source
of most of New Zealand's imported pork - and most of the
European Union, but the Australian pork industry recently
voted to pursue the voluntary phasing out of sow stalls by 2017.
Britain, Sweden and Finland have already banned dry sow stalls,
while the Netherlands allows them for only four days, and
Switzerland for 10 days.
To view the original Sunday series on pig farming in New Zealand, click on the links below.
Does the new pig welfare code go far enough? Have your say on the message board below.
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentmenacerec said on 2010-12-04 @ 16:50 NZDT: Report abusive post
The pork board have consistently ignored all scientific evidence and based their decision solely on the ability to make profit. Their organisation should not have the power that it does.
menacerec said on 2010-12-04 @ 16:48 NZDT: Report abusive post
Phasing it out after public pressure is not good enough. An Act. banning such farming should be passed, right now, and it should all be wrapped up immediately. Ignorance is no excuse for this kind of behaviour, the vast amount of scientific evidence supports the fact that animals experience emotion and consciousness just as we do, and such an experience for any conscious animal is horrific. The Ever-Swindell twins are also pushing the line by promoting the Lamb industry.
Julie B said on 2010-12-01 @ 22:43 NZDT: Report abusive post
It is a move in the right direction and good to see, but it is hard to understand why it takes 5 years to bring into full compliance? It is also difficult to understand why we need to import so much pork when we have more than enough domestically produced.
jencoup said on 2010-12-01 @ 18:52 NZDT: Report abusive post
It's a start. But why 5 years? That means sows still have to suffer for another 5 years. Pigs are intelligent animals) and to see the kind of treatment they suffered was heartbreaking. I don't mind admitting that I cried whilst watching what Mike King had the courage to expose. I had been making sure I bought NZ pork thinking that our pigs were treated right. How wrong could you be? Have not bought pork until recently when I found a local butcher sold free range pork expensive but guilt free
sarahbobeara said on 2010-12-01 @ 15:51 NZDT: Report abusive post
Well it's about time!!!