We also note that the Minister of Agriculture David Carter wants SAFE to identify the property where the secret footage was obtained, so that MAF animal welfare officers can investigate whether it is in breach of the Animal Welfare Act. We regard this as a totally appropriate response from the Minister - to firstly have officials investigate whether the allegations have substance before committing to a course of remedial action, if indeed such a course is required.
However the Herald is reporting that SAFE is, at this stage, declining to co-operate. Why on earth would that be, we wonder. Well, have a read of this:
The pig farm at the centre of an animal welfare campaign will not be named by animal rights campaigners immediately for publicity reasons, despite government authorities being keen to investigate.
Agriculture Minister David Carter is calling on animal rights campaigners to release the name and location of the pig farm where shocking images of pigs were filmed and shown on television last night.
The images showed pigs frothing at the mouth and unable to move inside their cages and aired on TVNZ's Sunday programme.
Mr Carter said the farm would be inspected by authorities.
"The television images were disturbing. It is essential we find out if this intensive pig farming operation is in breach of the Animal Welfare Act," Mr Carter said in a statement released this morning.
However, SAFE campaigner Hans Kriek said he would not be disclosing the information immediately.
When asked by nzherald.co.nz if that was due to publicity, Mr Kriek said yes.
"I'm not going to give you all the details of our strategy, which is a very sound one," Mr Kriek said.
OK - let's get this straight. SAFE is an acronym for Save Animals From Exploitation. SAFE believes that pigs are being mistreated, and that there are significant animal welfare issues. However SAFE will not co-operate with the authorities because it doesn't fit the organisation's "strategy". Meanwhile, we presume that the pigs in question will continue to be "mistreated", if indeed there has been any mistreatment at all.
Again we ask - why is SAFE not helping the animal welfare authorities? We smell a rat, and wonder of Mike King might be smelling a kiore too.
13 comments:
Publicity vs animal welfare and publicity wins?
The organisation which is supposed to save animals from exploitation is exploiting them.
You saw the irony in it too then Ele?
I did not see the programme but have read the headlines which seem to sensationalise the issue - surprise surprise.
Having grown up on farms there is one thing I know for sure about pigs and that is:
They love muck.
So true pdm - I think it was WhaleOil who blogged that there were two certainties when wrestling with a pig - you'd both get dirty, and the pig would enjoy it!
Doubtless though, SAFE would not be happy with that either. You really do have to wonder about their agenda.
Do not be in the slightest bit surprised if the footage used was from a farm outside New Zealand.
Remember, you are dealing with TV journalists and animal rights activists for whom the end always justifies the means.
The minister should ask TVNA Z if its crew shot the footage or did they just meekly accept the word of a few zealots that it was genuine?
The Pork Industry Council should be all over this one, digging like hell and suing everyone involved.
Adolf - I wouldn't be surprised at all, although I'm not so sure if King would get involved in that kind of expose if it was all going to turn to pig-poop all around him. As far as the animal rights crowd goes, you may have noticed a degree of scepticism in my blog post!
I haven't purchased pork products or cage hen eggs for about 20 years since becoming aware of how pigs were raised. The programme showed a situation far worse than I imagined. The pain in the screaming and the suffering in the eyes was almost unwatchable. I guess it's a world wide practice, but I'd rather starve.
I wonder if the previous Minister of Agriculture Blowhard Anderton was aware of the situation. TVNZ always want quotes from his crowd why not this time.?
I have not seen the Sunday programme but my first thought when I saw SAFE was involved was that the farm was probably outside New Zealand and for Mike King any publicity is good publicity.
This may sound cynical but they have just proved my cynicism by not being prepared to disclose the location so authorities can look after the animals.
baxter - m uch as I enjoy a good pork roast, I agree that if there IS a problem it needs to be investigated and then acted upon. SAFE has made its allegations, but the organisation's unwillingness to share that information with the proper authorities undermines SAFE's credibility in my mind. If animal welfare was SAFE's primary concern, you would think they would do anything they could to get quick action. For me, their spokeman's comment about having a "strategy" was telling - this is more about advancing SAFE's agenda than about animal welfare - and that sucks!
FFS baxter, the pigs were screaming and salivating because they thought they were going to be fed. Having worked at a piggery I can tell you that the sows were in a farrowing pen to stop them crushing their young and most sows are only penned for eight hours out of twenty four to force them to feed their young, the rest of their time is spent in a pen behind the farrowing crate. The sows stay in the farrowing shed for around four weeks then they and their litter go to a weaning shed for another three to four weeks. When the youngsters are weaned then it's off to the fattening shed where two or three litters are mixed and they spend the next twelve weeks being fed like kings to bring them up to a kill weight. Meanwhile the sows go back out to the paddock where they can put on condition and then they're put to the boar. The sows stay in the paddock right up to the day before they farrow and then the whole cycle starts again. This is the way pork is raised here and around the world and if you don't like it either pay $30Kg for supposedly free range pork, show me a free range piggery where they don't use farrowing pens, or give up eating pork.
Look there is a really simple explanation that you don't appear to have even tried to comprehend. They are seeking to improve the welfare of all the pigs. by publishing the location of this farm, all it will achieve is at best an improvement in conditions at that one farm alone, at worse, only a bigger fence put up around that farm.
That's possible Anon, and I'm sure that the "pigs on film" are grateful for their opportunity to be part of the bigger picture.
I make no apologies for my condemnation of SAFE. If they seriously cared about the pigs they secretly filmed, they would have taken the film to MAF as well as TVNZ. That they did not is telling.
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