Hearing for Proposed Mega Factory Farm Ruffling Feathers

A resource consent hearing could condemn millions of hens to torment and misery for decades to come, and animal rights advocates are furious.

SAFE and Stop Craddock Farms will be joining affected locals who will be strongly voicing their opposition to a proposed mega factory farm in a protest this morning. The objection comes as Auckland Council considers an application by Craddock Farms to build ten sheds confining 310,000 layer hens in colony cages in Patumahoe, South Auckland.

“It is absurd that we are allowing the introduction of these new colony cages when other countries are in the process of banning them,” says SAFE head of campaigns Mandy Carter. “This farm is a living hell for animals with thousands crammed in and death their only escape.”

The protest will take place at 8.30am this morning outside the hearing at Franklin Art Centre.

Colony cages are wire cages stacked on top of each other that provide each hen with a space marginally bigger than an A4 sheet of paper. They are billed as the new alternative to traditional battery cages, which will no longer be in use from 2023.

“It is a sad, short existence. Despite requirements in our animal welfare legislation, there is no way a hen can display her normal behaviour in a colony cage. New Zealanders do not want these cages either; a recent Horizon survey showed that 71.8 per cent find them unacceptable,” says Ms Carter.

As well as voicing concern for chicken welfare, locals in Patumahoe also object to the giant chicken sheds on the grounds of potential damage to water quality, and increased traffic, noise and smell, right in the heart of a thriving community village.

Deirdre Sims of Stop Craddock Farms says, "If Craddock Farms are given consent to build the biggest egg factory farm in New Zealand, they can expect significant protest action at the farm site. We are in this for the long-haul and do not want to see the entrenchment of mega factory farming in our country."

Craddock Farms’ conventional battery cage operation has been responsible for inflicting horrendous suffering on thousands of hens. The company is now set to expand the cruelty even further and SAFE is calling on the Auckland Council to take a stand and not allow this mega factory farm to be built.

The hearing will take place over two days on 17-18 November at the Franklin Art Centre, 12 Massey Avenue, Pukekohe.

PROTEST ACTION
8.30am- 9.30am, 17th November, outside Franklin Art Centre, 12 Massey Avenue, Pukekohe.

Hetty the giant caged hen will be in a cage, supported by protesters in chicken suits.

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