Abstract:
The SPCA is a not-for-profit organization established for the purpose of preventing cruelty to animals, whether these animals are farmed for the table, wild, or are kept as pets. The Animal Welfare (Pigs) Code of Welfare 2001 concerns farmed animals that are destined for the table. There are a number of farming practices currently permitted in the pork industry and also permitted in the Draft Code that constitute cruelty. This cruelty is not consistent with the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and for this reason the SPCA submits that a number of changes to the Draft Code are required in order to meet the spirit and letter of the Act. The SPCA welcomes the opportunity to make this submission.
There are a number of pork industry management changes that are coming into force in the European Union that improve the welfare of farmed pigs in member states. The EU commissioned an independent Scientific Veterinary Committee (SVC 1997) to gather scientific information on pig welfare and write a report. Article 6 of the Council Directive 91/630/EEC lays down the minimum standards for the protection of pigs for the EU and was recently amended following recommendations by the SVC.
At the very least, the New Zealand minimum standard for pork farming practice should be consistent with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act 1999. There is also opportunity for New Zealand to have a higher standard than what is required by the Act, particularly if we wish to be a world leader in agricultural practice. We note that the NZ dairy industry makes much of our free range cattle when marketing their product in countries where feedlots are the norm.
The changes to the Draft Code submitted by the SPCA form an integrated whole and combine animal welfare requirements with improvements in environmental standards. In some cases the recommendations have a dual (or multiple) effect and purpose. For example, the requirement to provide bulk fibrous food in the diet (e.g. straw) serves the purpose of satisfying dietary requirements (satiation), which assists in improving behavioural conditions (providing for the foraging instinct), whilst providing for improved welfare (cushioning on joints and limbs for housed pigs), as well as lowering the emissions to air and water (producing an economic by-product in the form of nitrogen rich compost). The changes that are proposed by the SPCA will require modifications in the quality of husbandry for some pig farmers, as a minimum standard. While some of these changes may require more financial input for those farmers in comparison with the status quo, we submit that the status quo (for some farmers) is in breach of the Animal Welfare Act and therefore is not a sustainable or legitimate situation.
The Animal Welfare Act (1999) is clear on a number of points that relate to the New Zealand pork industry. Section 4 of the Act requires animals to be able to display normal patterns of behaviour. This point is not under debate: it has been decided, the New Zealand public requires it, and now it needs to be enforced. Section 10 of the Act requires animals to be cared for in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge. The following submission presents ample scientific evidence to support significant improvements in the husbandry of pigs.
