Welfare code could harm industry
NZPork says most farms would have to be rebuilt
Anew draft welfare code for pigs released by the Government for public consultation could result in the deaths of up to 60,000 additional piglets every year, require almost every indoor and outdoor pig farm to be partly or totally rebuilt and force Kiwis to rely on imported pork produced using standards illegal in New Zealand, according to NZPork.
They say the draft code goes well beyond the welfare requirements in other countries, including colossal changes to the minimum space allowance required for grower pigs, a ban or significant limitation on the traditional use of farrowing systems (farrowing crates), an effective ban on mating stalls and setting a minimum weaning age of 28 days for piglets.
“The New Zealand pork sector welcomes and encourages positive change where there are proven and well-researched animal welfare outcomes for all pigs, however this draft code lacks scientific credibility and justification,” says Brent Kleiss, chief executive of NZPork.
“It imposes unachievable minimum standards on farmers and will effectively wipe out New Zealand’s pig industry.
“Furthermore, an independent economic analysis commissioned by the Government concludes the draft code is bad news for consumers with a predicted 18.2 per cent increase in the price of all New Zealand produced pork and a tsunami of imported pork undercutting local farmers and reducing sales of born and raised New Zealand pork.”
Farrowing crates are the maternity ward for sows. They are only housed in farrowing systems when it is time for them to give birth and care for their piglets, spending a maximum of 28 days in conventional indoor systems after giving birth, and up to five days pre-farrowing.
“They are specifically designed and proven to significantly reduce the main causes of piglet deaths such as starvation, hypothermia and being accidentally crushed by the sow,” says Brent.
“Our calculations estimate that up to 60,000 additional piglets would die every year, depending on which of the two farrowing options is finally adopted.
“Piglet deaths are a serious welfare issue and the Animal Welfare Act requires that the welfare outcomes for all animals affected by changes to the code must be considered.
“We believe that temporary confinement of the sow at a time when piglets are their most vulnerable is a reasonable compromise when the alternative is the death of 1-2 piglets in every litter in a free farrowing situation.
“No country has completely banned the use of farrowing crates in recognition that enabling a period of temporary confinement is still necessary during the highly vulnerable stage of newborn piglets’ lives.”
Brent says NZPork is particularly concerned at the enormous and unprecedented increase in the minimum space allowance for growing pigs proposed in both options.
“We acknowledge that there is scientific evidence supporting an increase in the current minimum space requirements for growing pigs, however the proposed increases are unaffordable and unjustifiable.
“The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee’s (NAWAC) focus on space as the priority indicator of good welfare rather than overall welfare outcomes for all pigs and their physical, health and behavioural requirements does not make sense.
“In fact, both of the proposed minimum space requirement options in the draft code significantly exceed those required in the rest of the world — even countries that have subsidies, government funding and protected markets.
“We are committed to improving welfare outcomes across the board in the pig industry and accept that there are some areas in the code that need to change in keeping with good practice informed by the latest science.
“However, the proposed changes are prescriptive rather than outcomebased and will effectively mean almost every commercial farm, both indoors and outdoors, will have to be partially or fully rebuilt. Some farmers will choose to exit the industry.”
NZPork is also disappointed that NAWAC accepted very limited input from farmers and the industry’s technical advisers including NZPork’s animal welfare scientist when NAWAC itself has no experience at all of pig farming.
“We believe the draft code is clear evidence of this. An independent report by Australian animal welfare and animal science experts agrees and has highlighted significant flaws in NAWAC’s methodology and conclusions.
“We’re puzzled why NAWAC and the Government believes it is a good idea to impose welfare standards further removed from those in most of the world while allowing pork to be imported and consumed here that is produced to standards that are currently illegal in New Zealand.
“Some parts of the world such as California and potentially the European Union are waking up to this contradiction and demanding imported pork products are produced to equivalent standards.
“Is it the Government’s intention to wipe out New Zealand’s pig industry by imposing minimum standards that will be impossible for many farmers to meet?
“New Zealand’s economy relies heavily on the country’s livestock sector. While we all want the production methods the sector uses to be ethical and the products of high quality, the extreme bar set in the proposed pig code and the apparent lack of understanding of the pork industry should greatly concern other livestock sectors reliant on animals to produce these important export products.”