Korean Dog Welfare

May 272009
 

We have received a letter from Hanne and Ole Stajner Hansen, animal welfare supporters from Denmark, regarding the alleged cruelty being perpetrated on dogs in Korea. Their suggested protest letter is too long to reproduce in full but they have supplied websites for further information:

http://www.koreananimals.org/
http://www.idausa.org/

and they have also provided the names of the people listed below, if you wish to write or email to express your views:

· Mayor of Seoul Mr. Oh Se-hoon
e-mail: ohsehoon@seoul.go.kr
Address: Euljiro 1, Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-744, Korea

· Korean President Mr. Lee Myung-bak
e-mail: webmaster@president.go.kr
Address: 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea

· Ambassador Lee, Tae-Sik
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
e-mail: korinfo@koreaemb.org
2450 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

· United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Mun
UN Headquarters, first Avenue of 46th street
New York, USA
e-mail to the office of the spokesman for the Secretary General is:
pressanalysis2@un.org

· The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea
e-mail: english@assembly.go.kr

They also suggest you may like to write to your local Korean Embassy.

Minister’s Animal Welfare Chief A ‘Dim-Witted Dinosaur’

May 252009
 

MEDIA RELEASE 25 May 2009

Dim-witted and vacuous comments made by the man in charge of reviewing the pig welfare code have outraged pig welfare campaigners.

National animal advocacy group SAFE says comments made on the Sunday programme last night by Dr Peter O’Hara were unscientific, anthropomorphic and ridiculously out of sync with the views of the New Zealand public.

SAFE says Dr Peter O’Hara, the chairman of the Minister of Agriculture’s National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), is a dinosaur using archaic unscientific logic, and calls on the Minister to fire him.

“How can the Minister of Agriculture and the New Zealand public have any confidence in NAWAC drafting a balanced code of welfare when the man in charge of the code review process is such a dim-witted dinosaur, who believes pig crates are not cruel?,” says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

Asked by the Sunday programme if pigs are happy in sow stalls, Dr Peter O’Hara stated “There’s no reason to think they’re not.”

“When the pig welfare code was drafted in 2001, NAWAC ruled that sow stalls were in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and recommended sow stalls be phased out. Now we have the NAWAC chair convinced pig crates are not inhumane. There is considerable scientific evidence that confinement of sows in stalls reduces their welfare and Dr O’Hara knows this,” says Mr Kriek.

Extract from SAFE’s submission on the Draft Pig Welfare Code 2001:

The EU Scientific Veterinary Committee (1997) concluded that sows housed in stalls exhibit high levels of stereotypies, unresolved aggression, inactivity, unresponsiveness, weak bones and muscles and clinical conditions. They observed that group-housed sows “…show less abnormality of bone and muscle development, much less abnormal behaviour, less likelihood of extreme physiological responses, less of the urinary tract infections associated with inactivity, and better cardiovascular fitness.” (p. 100). The Committee recommended that “Since sow welfare appears to be better when sows are not confined throughout gestation, sows should preferably be kept in groups.”

For more information contact Hans Kriek 027 446 2711.

SAFE’s 2001 submission to NAWAC in 2001 is available at: http://www.lovepigs.org.nz/Latest-news/Mike-King-story/Media/

LEGAL PIG CRUELTY SICKENS NATION

May 202009
 

20 May 2009   MEDIA RELEASE

LEGAL PIG CRUELTY SICKENS NATION
Group calls for whistleblowers to ‘dob in’ pig abusers

New Zealanders have been left angry and in total disbelief after MAF animal welfare investigators yesterday cleared the intensive piggery at the centre of a national pig cruelty debate. The MAF ruling has disgusted animal advocates but they say the announcement comes as no surprise.

National animal advocacy organisation SAFE said today it has no confidence in New Zealand’s animal welfare legislation process when it fails to consider science and humane principles and totally ignores the collective opinion of the New Zealand public.

“Almost every New Zealander who has viewed the disturbing footage of these pathetic incarcerated pigs condemns this as pig cruelty. There are ample scientific reports that support this view. That is why the UK and Sweden have banned sow stalls. What the hell kind of conditions do pigs have to live in before a pig farmer breaks the law in this country? As of today, we may find out,” says SAFE campaign director, Hans Kriek.

SAFE is calling for whistleblowers from within the pig industry that have concerns about farming practices within the industry, but don’t know who to speak to.

“SAFE is appealing to farm workers, drivers, packers, and others employed within the pig industry to come forward and blow the whistle on their troubled industry. Confidentiality will be assured. It is clear this industry is in serious trouble and can no longer be trusted with the welfare of its pig population. If you know of a pig farm that you believe is hell on earth for pigs I want to hear from you,” says Mr Kriek.

SAFE has already received sensitive information about other pig farms since the exposé on the Sunday programme. The group wants information identifying pig farms where there is extreme animal cruelty or neglect that is likely to result in MAF taking legal action once a complaint is made.

“SAFE will be making official complaints to MAF in the coming weeks for them to investigate each and every one of these horrific farms. Since the Minister of Agriculture and the New Zealand Pork Industry Board have publicly admitted being completely unaware of industry practices we are appealing to those on the ground who actually know what’s going on.”

“New Zealanders were almost convinced by the New Zealand Pork Industry Board that this ousted farmer was a rogue, now they know he is one of the country’s leading pig farmers. This demonstrates just how bad the situation is within the pig industry.”

Whistleblowers
People with information can phone, email, fax or post information to SAFE. Details are online at LovePigs Story

For more information contact Hans Kriek 027 446 2711

Pig Farmer To Be Identified – Not A Rogue, Say Pig Advocates

May 202009
 

19 May 2009

MEDIA RELEASE

The identity of the intensive piggery at the centre of a national investigation which has left Mike King and most New Zealanders disgusted and horrified will be revealed by the national animal advocacy organisation SAFE today.

SAFE says it will disclose the identity of the farm to the Minister of Agriculture tomorrow in order for MAF to investigate, however the group maintains the North Island piggery is a typical sow stall operation and is unlikely to be breaking the law.

SAFE can reveal the owner is a leading pig industry representative and former director of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board, who owns five piggeries.

“The owner of the intensive piggery at the centre of public outrage is no rogue farmer. He owns several intensive piggeries worth an estimated $4m. This farm has previously been investigated by MAF, who found nothing in breach of the law. The farm is disgusting but appears to be operating within the law, so we doubt if MAF will find anything different this time,” says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

SAFE was surprised to hear comments from the chairman of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board denying ever seeing similar conditions on other intensive pig farms with sow stalls.

Chris Trengrove said on Close Up tonight:

“I have not been on a farm that looks anything like that. We are horrified as well. We support the minister in investigating that farm.”

“SAFE says over 22,000 pregnant sows live in sow stalls in New Zealand and suffer the same fate as those pigs on the exposed piggery. Other pig farms may look a bit cleaner but the cages are just as small and cruel,” says Mr Kriek.

For more information contact Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711.

Mike King Condemns Pig Cruelty

May 182009
 

18 May 2009
MEDIA RELEASE

MIKE KING LATEST CELEBRITY KINGPIN
TO CONDEMN NEW ZEALAND PIG CRUELTY

The New Zealand Pork Industry has been dealt a shameful public relations slap-in-the-face after its former celebrity kingpin, Mike King, ousted their farming practices as “brutal,” “callous” and “evil” on last night’s Sunday programme.


Links:
To read Mike King’s story visit: http://www.lovepigs.org.nz/Latest-news/Mike-King-story/


The award-winning comedy icon has become the latest high-profile celebrity to publicly condemn the appalling treatment of factory farmed pigs. Mike King decided to see first hand the horrific conditions inside a New Zealand piggery. During his 45-minute ordeal he observed:

-       a dead female pig inside a sow stall
-       lame, crippled pigs and others that could barely stand
-       pigs either extremely depressed or highly distressed
-       bar biting, scars and injuries
-       pigs excessively frothing at the mouth
-       a lack of clean drinking water and food

“Sow crate farming should be illegal and we should outlaw it right now. It is absolutely disgusting and I am sorry that I was part of it,” says Mr King.

National animal advocacy organisation SAFE is delighted to have the weight of Mike King behind them. King has vowed to back SAFE’s LovePigs campaign until sow stalls are banned.

“I didn’t know it [sow stalls] was going on. The New Zealand public didn’t know it was going on. I honestly believed our clean green image and the way we love animals would never, never, ever allow that crap to go on,” says King. “I am deeply ashamed that I was blinded by, and took part in, promoting this style of farming.”

SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek says “SAFE applauds Mike King for his courage to speak out against cruel pig farming practices. After spending seven years urging kiwis to eat New Zealand pork Mike King has vowed to never again eat factory farmed pork because he is so horrified by what he saw. We expect a wave of protests and consumer boycotts from outraged consumers.”

“A consumer boycott of cruelly produced pig products is the only way to force the pork industry to change from cruel confinement systems. A review of the pig welfare code later this year is unlikely to recommend any significant changes, meaning consumers need to use their supermarket trolleys as a form of protest. Mike King and SAFE are urging consumers to not buy factory farmed pig products.”

PROTEST TODAY:
A protest in Christchurch today kicks off activities around the country. The protest will be held at 4.30pm outside the electorate office of the Minister of Agriculture, David Carter.

For more information contact Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711.

To view the complete list of New Zealand politicians, athletes, comedians, actors, musicians, academics and well-known television personalities who support the LovePigs campaign visit: Famous Kiwis LovePigs

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