Source: SAFE For Animals
SAFE is condemning the Government’s decision to push the Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill through its next stages under urgency today, calling it a deeply cynical move that will entrench cruelty and undermine the foundation of New Zealand’s animal welfare system.
The Bill will allow the indefinite use of farrowing crates and mating stalls – confinement systems the High Court ruled unlawful in 2020 for preventing mother pigs from turning, nesting, or caring for their piglets. Under existing law, farrowing crates were due to end on December 18.
SAFE Chief Executive Debra Ashton says today’s events show a Government willing to ignore science, sidestep judicial findings, and override democratic processes in order to satisfy industry demands.
“This is a dark day for mother pigs in Aotearoa,” says Ashton.
“By rushing it through under urgency, the Government has shown utter contempt for animal welfare, for the courts, and for the New Zealand public. It has handed the writing of our animal-welfare rules to industry lobbyists behind closed doors.”
Throughout the Bill’s development, animal-welfare organisations and experts were excluded from discussions while NZ Pork was given privileged access to confidential drafts. Evidence was withheld until the eve of the submission deadline, and nearly 90% of public submitters opposed the Bill.
“All of this political maneuvering has very real victims: the mother pigs trapped in cages barely larger than their bodies,” says Ashton.
“And it shakes public confidence in the entire animal welfare system. If protections can be undone this easily, then every animal is at risk .”
SAFE is calling on all opposition parties to publicly commit to reversing the law change and restoring protections for mother pigs.
“We know many MPs are just as distressed as the public to see these protections rolled back. A commitment to reinstate them would send a powerful message that compassion will prevail,” says Ashton.
SAFE is Aotearoa’s leading animal rights organisation.
We’re creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.
- On 10 November, SAFE lodged a formal compliant highlighting the urgent need for reassignment of the ministerial animal welfare portfolio due to serious and egregious conflicts of interest. The complaint outlines several issues relating to Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard’s oversight of animal welfare.
