If you've picked up a newspaper lately you may have noticed pigs have been getting a bit of attention (and I don't mean swine flu). Recent investigations in Australia and NZ have revealed just how bad factory farming can get (and as someone who's seen a lot, even I was shocked).
Mike King may be a new name to many Aussies but in NZ he's a familiar face. The NZ comedian and TV celebrity was until recently also the face of NZ Pork. That is, until he found out where NZ Pork came from – factory farms. With the help of undercover investigators King saw a factory farm first hand. The footage from this investigation was aired on the NZ current affairs program Sunday, to much public outrage.
And it's no wonder people were outraged. The NZ 'codes' for pig welfare (and the Australian 'codes' for that matter) effectively make it legal for farmers to be cruel to pigs. For example, they permit sows (mother pigs) to be locked in cages called 'sow stalls' which are little bigger than their own bodies.
Meanwhile back home, an investigation into one of Woolworths' major Tasmanian pork suppliers has exposed one of Australia's worst ever cases of commercial animal cruelty. Investigators found starving sows with legs so swollen they couldn't stand to reach food or water; one mother pig had been left to die in her own waste with a shoulder wound rotting and filled with maggots. It was some of the worst footage I've seen. And this supplier, Gary Oliver, supplies roughly 20% Woolworths' Tasmanian pork!
So the big question is how did Woolworths' react? Well, it seems they've given Mr Oliver a slap on the wrist; told him to clean up his act; and now it's back to business as usual. Bit if you ask me, anyone who can leave an animal to be eaten alive by maggots should not be paid to 'look after' animals.
But the story doesn't end there. Last week one of Woolworths' major Tasmanian egg producers was also convicted of animal cruelty. On at least 2 separate visits to Sun Valley Poultry a government inspector found hens crammed into tiny cages on top of the rotting corpses of their dead cage-mates, to the extent that they could not even stand properly. The inspector found another 27 dead birds left to rot in their cages; not to mention birds covered in manure; and one dead bird being cannibalised by a distressed cage-mate.
So it seems that the 'fresh food people' need a shake up. Rotting birds in tiny wire cages and dying, maggot-infested pigs is not what I'd call a 'high standard' of animal welfare! If this sort of cruelty and neglect on factory farms makes you sick, then let Woolworths know. And if you've already written once and weren't happy with their response (I certainly wasn't!) then here's a few tips for how you might respond to their letter.
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Letter to Woolworths - check
Letter to the editor (The Age) - check
Letter to the editor (the Herald Sun) - check
Lette to the editor (The Australian) - check
The arrogance of this corporation is amazing; "Fresh Food People"... what a joke.
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"Fresh Food People"
Can we sue for misleading the public?
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Hey, That can be there new sloagan! Great public branding!
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and they didn't even respond.
they couldn't even be bothered to sent the auto-reply!!
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what people do for money.....
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Those poor animals will never know the true meaning of those words
Great work Matt.Y - you are my new inspiration!
I have written to Woolworths re the investigated piggery, & have been spreading the word any way i can. I haven't had chance to write to anyone about the chickens yet, but rest assured Woolworths is not going to get away with this unnoticed!
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I find it hard to believe that not only for the animals involved but for humans and other creatures (ie: pets) that the government neglects to regulate animal industry. It's not just farming either, even our pets aren't greatly protected.
I think it would take more to get a change in the industries than just contacting supermarkets, laws need to be changed/made to prevent these horrendous acts of cruelty.
I never watch the videos or look at photos. I know what goes on, and I do what I can to ensure I don't contribute to it... I have my two beautiful chooks, who rule the entire backyard. They're big and plump and shiny, they each lay at least 1 egg a day, they're on an all natural diet, no hormones or chemicals. I don't even understand the need for factory farming. It's not about producing more - so much goes to waste anyway.
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NOW I KNOW WHY
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