Pig brother
Home » Blog » Annabel McAleer » Pig brotherBritain has higher standards of pig welfare than New Zealand. Here's what you can do about it.
Jamie Oliver's latest food expose, Jamie Saves Our Bacon, screened on TV One last night. Aimed at convincing Britons to buy British pork products, rather than European, the show shone a light on the less savoury side of the ham sandwich.
Britain has banned the cruel practice of keeping mother pigs in sow crates; the whole EU will follow them in 2013. New Zealand still has no plans to ban their use.
Here, more than 20,000 sows are confined to stalls so small they can't turn around.
This week SAFE, the animal welfare organisation that put those heartbreaking 'Lucy the pig' ads on TV last year, will send footage from inside New Zealand pig farms to Jamie Oliver.
Jamie Oliver and sow in a scene from Jamie Saves Our Bacon
"New Zealand pig farms fall well below standards in the United Kingdom, particularly since our farmers continue to use cruel sow stalls in which to keep pregnant sows," says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek. "New Zealand must follow the UK by banning the use of sow stalls."
Pig farming standards are expected to come under review this year, because sow stalls and farrowing crates have been found to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1999. Here's what you can do to help:
- Write to your MP. SAFE have made this super-easy with their Lobbying for Lucy e-card.
- Tell all your friends to write to their MPs, too.
- Print out copies of SAFE's Eateries Against Animal Cruelty postcard, and take them to your favourite cafes.
- Every time you go to the supermarket or butcher, ask if they stock free-farmed 'happy pork'. Keep asking until they say yes!
- Boycott all pork that isn't SPCA-approved. So far, only one Kiwi brand—Freedom Farms—has the SPCA tick.
- Listen to Sam Tucker: pigs are clever wee cuties. Consider giving up pork, or eating lots less of it.
Here's some more info on the SPCA approval process from Freedom Farms—the happiest pork in New Zealand.
Despite our clean, green reputation overseas, and the income it generates for the economy, New Zealand is far behind Britain when it comes to the housing of pigs.
The sad reality is that much of the pork farmed and imported into New Zealand is intensively farmed indoors with concrete pens and crates and is the exact opposite of what Jamie encourages everyone to support.
Sow crates—or sow stalls, as they are referred to in Britain—are already banned in the UK, with the EU planning to follow suit by 2013. Currently, New Zealand still has no plan in place to ban their use.
CEO of the New Zealand SPCA, Robyn Kippenberger, explains, “The use of sow crates (or stalls) is simply unacceptable. Intensively farming pigs using crates completely prevents pigs from being able to display any of their natural mothering behaviour.”
Kippenberger continues, “Jamie’s mission to encourage consumers to eat only cage free, more naturally farmed pork products has done wonders for ethical pork consumption in Britain, and I can only hope it will have the same effect here in New Zealand.”
Jamie encourages British consumers to buy British-reared pork to guarantee the pork they consume does not come from farms that use crates and cages. However, it is a different case for New Zealand.
The only way to ensure the pork or bacon you buy has been reared without crates or cages is to read the label, and check that it has the SPCA seal of approval.
Freedom Farms free-farmed pork products—including bacon, sliced ham, whole and half hams, and fresh pork cuts—all come from SPCA-approved NZ farms, meaning they are guaranteed to be raised without crates, cages or pens.
Robyn Kippenberger stresses, “The best way to improve the life of pigs is to only buy pork that carries the SPCA stamp of approval—regardless of whether it’s imported or New Zealand-raised pork.”
