Source: SAFE For Animals
SAFE is appalled by the associate minister for Animal Welfare Andrew Hoggard’s announcement that the Government plans to continue to allow mother pigs to be confined in farrowing crates and mating stalls, arguing that no reduction of time spent in these cage systems justifies their use.
The Government proposes to limit the confinement of mother pigs in farrowing crates to a maximum of seven days, down from the current 33 days. It also proposes restricting the use of mating stalls to three hours at a time, followed by a three-hour break before a sow can be returned to the stall – a process that can be repeated as often as the farmer chooses, instead of allowing continuous confinement for seven days.
The announcement comes five years after SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association took the Government to the High Court over the use of these systems.
In 2020, the Court held that the approach the Government had used to regulate the use of farrowing crates and mating stalls was unlawful. That decision led to substantive efforts by the then Labour-led Government to eventually phase out their use.
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says this announcement is a betrayal of those positive changes and the mother pigs it was meant to protect.
“This was an opportunity to show that this government takes animal welfare seriously. Instead, of recognising that confining a mother pig in a cage for any amount of time is unjust, the Government has chosen to allow an inhumane and unlawful practice to continue.” says Ashton
“Allowing confinement for any number of days undermines the Court’s ruling and the intent of the Animal Welfare Act. This is a deeply disappointing result that shows Government remains captive to industry influence.”
NZALA President Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere said the decision was “a significant disappointment that undermines the real progress made on ending the use of farrowing crates and mating stalls proposed in 2023; progress that has since stalled for the last two years.”
SAFE says the announcement on how the government plan to deliver these changes is vague and will wait for more information before deciding on next steps. In the meantime, SAFE remains firm in its position that no cage system for any amount of time is acceptable, and will continue to advocate for the freedom of pigs in New Zealand.
“It is difficult to believe the Minister has chosen to allow the continued confinement of mother pigs in cruel cages. We know New Zealanders will not accept this and SAFE won’t let it go unchallenged.” 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.
- Farrowing crates are metal cages used to confine mother pigs during and after birth. In these crates, mother pigs cannot turn around or interact meaningfully with their piglets. In 2022, it was estimated that up to 60% of pig farmers use farrowing crates. The system has been widely condemned by animal welfare experts and is already banned or heavily restricted in several countries, including Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
- In 2020, the High Court ruled in favour of NZALA and SAFE, declaring that the minimum standards and regulations permitting farrowing crates and mating stalls were unlawful. The Court found they breached the Animal Welfare Act 1999, which requires animals to be able to express normal patterns of behaviour.
- The ruling marked the first successful legal challenge to a Code of Welfare in New Zealand’s history.
- SAFE submitted a petition in March 2018, which was signed by over 112,000 people calling for farrowing crates to be banned.
