Agriculture Minister David Carter wants a review of the
welfare code for pigs to be the top priority for the National
Animal Welfare Advisory Committee.
His call followed a current affairs programme airing footage
filmed by animal welfare organisation Open Rescue, which
showed a break-in at a Levin pig farm.
The pigs were seen chewing at their cage bars, frothing at
the mouth and unable to move.
Yesterday, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) animal
welfare inspectors, an independent vet and pig expert,
visited the pig farm and spent around two-and-a-half hours
there.
Mr Carter said the advisory committee was reviewing the 2005
Code for pigs. He has asked for the review to be given the
"highest priority".
In a letter sent to committee chair, Peter O'Hara, Mr Carter
said he wanted to issue a new welfare code for pigs by the
end of the year.
Dr O'Hara would be reporting back on the timeframe shortly,
Mr Carter said.
The owner of the piggery, former New Zealand Pork Industry
Board chairman Colin Kay, told news media after the MAF
inspection that investigators did not find anything wrong
with the farm.
But MAF released a statement soon after the inspection that
said it had not reached any conclusions.
Inspectors would be completing their reports, which would
include any recommendations and conclusions.
This would enable MAF to decide upon what, if any, further
investigation was required, the statement said.
Mr Kay said he thought activists had stirred the pigs up.
"I think the people that were there provoked them somehow."
The farm was investigated three years ago, and cleared of any
wrong-doing.
Meanwhile, the SPCA has called for pork producers to ensure
consumers know whether or not they are purchasing meat
produced in inhumane conditions.
It was challenging pork producers to come up with a system
that let consumers know for sure how the pork or bacon was
produced, SPCA chief executive Robyn Kippenberger said.
"In most abattoirs, there is no attempt to differentiate
between meat that originates in appalling circumstances, such
as were shown on Sunday, and pork or bacon produced more
humanely," Ms Kippenberger said.
Until truth in labelling occurred, the only certain way to
avoid purchasing pork or bacon produced in grossly inhumane
conditions was to opt for meat labelled `free farmed' or
`free range'.
"Better still, look for packaging that bears the blue and
white `SPCA Approved' logo," she said.
Save Animals from Exploitation (Safe) has also called for
people to tell them about piggeries which abused or neglected
their animals.
