PIGS SPARED MISERY - VICTORY!

SAFE is celebrating after Environment Waikato declined resource consent applications to build what would have been New Zealand's largest pig farm. Piggery owner Ken McIntyre sought to expand his existing piggery in Kereone into a 50,000 mega-pig farm, however this was later reduced to 30,000 pigs in an effort to secure a successful application.

SAFE believes the pigs were to be intensively farmed inside a large number of sheds. Permission was also sought to irrigate treated wastewater onto adjacent farmland and to build a massive biogas electricity generator plant.

SAFE made a submission to the local council objecting to the application as part of the public consultation process.

"We are delighted to hear that the resource consent has been declined," says campaign director Hans Kriek. "If this farm had been allowed to proceed, tens of thousands of pigs would have been condemned to a life of misery inside this monstrous farm. Good management means being able to give attention to each individual animal. Clearly, with even 30,000 pigs, this would be completely impossible," says Hans.

The local community overwhelmingly opposed the piggery proposal. Odour discharge, the impact on the sensitive rural environment and adverse effects from air discharges were cited by Environment Waikato as some of the reasons the application was declined.

SAFE's little-piggy army!

In order to step up its fight against factory pig farming, SAFE has commissioned 15 more model pigs in sow crates to be dispatched to SAFE centres around the country. The SAFEBid! art auction organised by SAFE's promotion manager Amanda Sorrenson and MCd by Outrageous Fortune star Robyn Malcolm raised the necessary funds for these highly effective stall props.

"I am thrilled we are now able to provide all of our active volunteer centres with these model pigs," says campaign director Hans Kriek. "These pigs are a work of art and are amazingly realistic. They are perfect to illustrate the close confinement of sows in a manner easily related to by the public. We receive many comments from people who see them. Most people will never witness the cruelty of a pig factory farm so our model pigs are as close as they will ever come to being exposed to this kind of animal abuse. It is great to see people responding to the pigs and pledging to no longer eat factory farmed pigs."

Small sow stalls found even smaller!

An investigation undertaken by animal activists from Open Rescue revealed a Wellington pig farm was keeping sows inside metal stalls even narrower than the legal width. By law, sow stalls must be at least 60 centimetres wide by two metres long, giving the sow a 1.2 square metre minimum space allowance.

An official complaint was immediately lodged with MAF who assigned a veterinary officer to undertake a comprehensive investigation. It was soon revealed the farm was owned and managed by Pork Industry Board member Colin Kaye.

Open Rescue activists and SAFE believed there was sufficient evidence for MAF to prosecute. The report completed by the MAF veterinary officer identified serious breaches and made recommendations for Kaye to remove all sows from stalls smaller than legal size. His recommendations were not actioned however as MAF began to question the methodology that defined legal stall sizes within the code of welfare regulations.

The Pig Industry Board quickly attempted to rationalise arguments in support of the smaller crates that raised suspicions as to just how widespread the problem was within the New Zealand pork industry. Both Open Rescue and SAFE were dumbfounded.

"Based on the reaction from the pig industry, we expect that there are a large number of pig farms in New Zealand that use stalls that break the law," says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

"We believe that MAF bowed to industry pressure and decided that it is easier to ignore animal welfare legislation than to hold farmers accountable for flouting the law."

"It is appalling that MAF intends to allow farmers to continue using stalls that are even smaller than the ones currently allowed, which are already deemed grossly inadequate," says Hans.

SAFE is addressing this issue with legislators and politicians in an attempt to overturn MAF's decision and to ensure that the minimum standards, pathetic as they may be, are at least upheld.

Submission against massive piggery

SAFE has lodged a submission against a proposal to build New Zealand's largest piggery in the Waikato area, southeast of Morrinsville. Kereone's McIntyre Piggery has applied to Environment Waikato and the Matamata-Piako District Council for resource consent to increase the size of the piggery by almost 50 times, from 1100 to 50,000 pigs. Currently New Zealand's largest piggery has 35,000 pigs.

The expanded operation would keep 5000 breeding sows to produce grower pigs to supply pork for markets in New Zealand and overseas. In addition to an increase in pig numbers, the expansion would include construction of a new biogas plant designed to treat pig effluent, food, meat wastes and bio-solids, converting them into biogas for electricity generation, and fertiliser.

Piggery owner Ken McIntyre says "We know it would be a sustainable model for the future and a real step up for the piggery sector in New Zealand. The biogas plant is the key to the thing."

The proposal includes building 36 new 350 square metre pig sheds on the existing site, which currently has four sheds. The expansion is expected to take three years to complete.

Mr McIntyre said the expansion would not be possible without the biogas plant, which would reduce odour issues.

The biogas plant would be operating in the first 18 months. The plant is expected to deliver up to 1.2MW of electricity to the local network - enough to power 1800 homes.

The application seeks permission to operate for a minimum of 35 years.

Study Renews Debate Over Sows in Crates

A new study is raising questions about the effectiveness of small, metal crates for pregnant pigs that animal welfare groups say are cruel and inhumane.

Researchers from Iowa State University found that allowing pregnant pigs to move freely in group housing structures called hoop barns could be less costly and just as productive as the narrow, individual crates.

"What we found was that there appears to be no real difference in pig performance between the two," said Peter Lammers, an ISU graduate research assistant who conducted data analysis for the 2 1/2-year study.

There has been a backlash against placing pregnant sows in the gestation crates. Some food processors and fast food chains have pledged not to purchase meat from producers who use them, and some chefs said they would only use crate-free pork. The European Union has decided to phase out the crates by 2013, while voters in Florida and Arizona have approved ballot initiatives to ban them over the next few years.

"Highly intelligent animals, curious animals are crammed in a 2-foot-by-7-foot cage that doesn't even allow them to turn around," said Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. More...

Pigs sentenced to 10 more cramped years

Animal welfare groups have condemned the decision by agriculture ministers to extend for another 10 years the practice of confining breeding sows to cramped conditions. Other industrialised nations are either phasing out the method or reducing the amount of time sows are kept in the metal crates, which are so small the animal cannot turn around or take more than one step forward or back.

In 2017 Australian pig farmers will have to reduce the maximum amount of time they keep sows in stalls from 16 weeks - the entire pregnancy - to six weeks. More...

British supermarket goes crate-free

British supermarket chain Marks & Spencer have recently found themselves in the spotlight on their pig welfare standards. From 15 March, they went on record to confirm their commitment to farm animal welfare, to phasing out farrowing crates for pigs, and to continuing to work with Compassion in World Farming to progress their welfare standards.

For the past seven years CIWF has been working with major UK retailers such as M&S to encourage better standards and performance on farm animal welfare. Paul Willgoss, M&S Head of Agriculture, said in January: "Our relationship with Compassion in World Farming has been an important factor in encouraging Marks & Spencer to make real improvements to farm animal welfare." More...

Smithfield to phase out crates

Smithfield Foods Inc., America's largest pork producer, announced it will phase out "gestation crates" at all of its company-owned sow farms over the next decade. The company has come under fire by animal-rights activists in recent years over the crates, where some female pigs can spend most of their lives. The issue also played a role in last year's midterm elections.

Smithfield is the first major pork producer to move to ban the crates, but the company's efforts may not be fast enough for critics. "It's a big step," says Bernard Rollin, a professor of philosophy at Colorado State University and animal-rights researcher. But "it's not quick enough." Groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, say it is inhumane to keep the sows -- female pigs -- in the crates during their 16-week gestation period, because they can't turn around, walk or stretch their legs. The crates are typically two feet wide by seven feet long. At the peak of their gestation, sows can weigh as much as 600 pounds. When a sow is ready to give birth, she is moved to a "farrowing crate" to give birth and then reintroduced to the crate shortly later when she becomes pregnant again by artificial insemination. Activists also say that pigs are intelligent animals that develop compulsive behaviors while kept in the crates, such as "chewing on cage bars and obsessively pressing against water bottles," according to a PETA Web site. Speaking of the crates, Mr. Rollins says: "If you see one you'll never forget it."

Smithfield will replace the crates with "group housing," where the animals can socialise with one another. The pens will hold between six and 55 sows, depending on the size of the barn, according to the company. The crates at Smithfield's farms will be phased out completely by 2017. The company also contracts with farms. At those farms crates will have to be phased out by 2027. The transformation to pens from crates is expected to be costly, but Smithfield declined to estimate how much it would spend. Smithfield says its customers, including McDonald's Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have been increasingly asking the company to get rid of the crates. Customers have expressed "their desire to have a different form of sow housing," said Dennis Treacy, vice president of environmental and corporate affairs at Smithfield. This is a "significant step forward for animal welfare," said Frank Muschetto, senior vice president at McDonald's, in a statement. "Animal welfare is an integral part of McDonald's corporate social responsibility efforts and supply chain practices." Sow crates became a hot-button issue during last year's midterm election. Arizona voters passed an initiative, called the Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act, which requires farmers to house sows in pens larger than the gestation crates. In 2002 Florida passed a similar regulation. The gestation crates are banned in Europe. This is somewhat of a risky move for Smithfield since its independent producers could bear the cost of transforming their barns to the new pen standard. Smithfield doesn't have any sow farms in Arizona, but other pork producers balked at the initiative in that state. A group of pork producers called Campaign for Arizona Farmers & Ranchers posted large yellow and black signs stating "HOGWASH" along Arizona highways. Smithfield has 187 sow farms -- facilities where pregnant pigs are raised -- across the country. Smithfield says the crates were originally used to protect the pig while pregnant, and to keep the animal clean. The company says new research shows that keeping sows in pens rather than crates doesn't interfere with the animals' ability to give birth.

Canada is urged to follow America's largest pork producer and end pigs in cages

TORONTO - Following news of the biggest advance in farm animal welfare in modern agribusiness, the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals (CCFA) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) are calling on Maple Leaf Foods to follow the lead of America's largest pork producer.

"We are asking Maple Leaf Foods, as Canada's largest pork producer, to follow Smithfield's lead and phase out this cruel confinement system," says John Youngman, a CCFA Director. "It would send a strong message to the rest of Canada's pork industry that sow stalls have no place in Canada." Most of Canada's 1.6 million breeding sows are confined for their entire lives in cages measuring just two feet wide by seven feet long. The cages are so small mother pigs cannot turn around.

Farm animal expert Dr. Temple Grandin states, "Gestation crates for pigs are a real problem...Basically, you're asking a sow to live in an airline seat."
"This practice is considered so extraordinarily cruel that all of Europe has voted to ban sow stalls as of 2013. And now, voters in Florida and Arizona have also voted to ban the practice. This is an enormous win for animal welfare," said Silia Smith, Regional Director for WSPA Canada. Under Smithfield's plan, mother pigs will instead be housed in group pens which will allow them some freedom of movement and the ability to socialize.