Tuesday, 6 November 2001
For Immediate Release

Pork Products Removed From Supermarket Shelves

Many Hamilton inner city supermarkets have found their pork products removed, re – labelled with “made with cruelty on a factory farm” and “Sow crates are torture. Boycott Pork” stickers and replaced in different areas of the store.

This is one of many expected actions aimed at raising public awareness of the conditions suffered by factory-farmed pigs following the opening of the submission period on dry sow stalls, which began November 1st.

Actions of this kind are expected to escalate over the following six week period of submissions. Hamilton Animal Rights Defence supports these actions in light of the cruel methods of animal imprisonment applied in factory farms.

The pork industry’s use of the sow crate, a tiny metal cage in which pregnant sows are kept for three to four months of their pregnancy, has long been a controversial issue. Despite previous promises to phase out the sow crate by 2012, the Pork board recently reneged on their promise, opting to keep them in for a shorter period of time (1 month) which would be entirely impossible to police.

“This is unacceptable. The sows are unable to turn around, and can only take one step forward or back. Any length of time in such a crate is cruel. The sow crate must be banned completely.” says Michael Wise of Hamilton Animal Rights Defence, “If a dog was kept in these kinds of conditions they would arrest the owner for cruelty, yet they do it to pigs”

Hamilton Animal Rights Defence is against the methods of factory farming, stating that they deny animals the freedom to express their natural behaviour patterns, as stipulated in the Animal Welfare Act (1999).

Postcard submissions and information on how to write a full submission to the Government are available from RSPCA and The Body Shop on Ward Street and a replica sow and crate are on display in town up to three days a week.

Hamilton Animal Rights Defense will be hanging “Factory farming is cruelty” banners from Claudelands bridge, Bridge street bridge, and Fairfield bride between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm this Thursday (8 November).

End of press release

For more information, contact:

Hamilton Animal Rights Defense – Michael Wise - 021 176 0860

Or visit:

www.pigs.rnzspca.org.nz

Supermarkets targeted were:

Pak’n’Save, Mill St. Hamilton – (07) 839 7870

Big Fresh, Hamilton – (07) 834 1490

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