Stop and think about why you are opposing modern egg farming

The Egg Producers Federation is urging those attending the hearing this week and opposed to Craddock’s new animal welfare friendly egg farm in Pukekohe, to stop and think.

If colony farming were to be banned, New Zealand would be the only country in the world where just barn or free-range eggs would be available to consumers.

Is that lack of choice really where we want to be? asks Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the Egg Producers Federation which represents all egg farmers including barn and free-range.

“We have to ask ourselves why we would want to be so far out of line with international practice,” “In that situation all eggs would be at least twice as expensive as they are now and our egg supply would be significantly more vulnerable to biosecurity threats such as avian influenza which can decimate whole flocks of birds at a time,” says Brooks.

“It may surprise many people to know that egg farmers have recognised that the public would like to see birds out of “battery” cages and farmers have spent over $1m on a three-year research programme investigating the new style colony enclosures.

“The colony farming method, which is a major farming option in Europe, is now a viable replacement for New Zealand and will bring the curtain down on “battery” cages in this country.

“The Government-appointed independent expert committee, NAWAC (the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee), extensively researched colonies and in its findings stated that the animal welfare status of colonies was equivalent to free-range and barn”, he says.

In just three European countries there have been politically-driven, but not welfare science-based decisions to ban colonies, but consumers in those countries can still purchase even imported “battery” cage as well as colony eggs, and do. Consumers there still have a choice but with no importation of eggs allowed into New Zealand, there would be no choice for Kiwi consumers.

“We don’t want imports because with them potentially comes a raft of bird and human diseases we don’t have in this country,” says Brooks.

“The fact is that Kiwis love eggs. Each of us eats 226 a year. If only free-range eggs were allowed the price would at least double, continuing a trend of cost increases seen in other household staples, and driving people away from the nutritious egg to cheaper foods and the threat of poor nutrition and even further rising obesity.”

“Colonies are sympathetic to the needs of birds. The enclosures are much larger than “battery” cages and the birds can move around freely. In colonies the birds are well protected and have the freedom to do the things birds like to do in special areas fitted with perching, scratching and nesting facilities.

“Biosecurity is a critical issue in egg farming. Unfortunately, free-range flocks are more susceptible to the increasingly insidious avian diseases of our time than colonies. A recent case in Australia involved the precautionary slaughter of 300,000 birds after ducks with avian influenza infected a small free-range flock near a much larger cage farm. These threats are very real.

What is the problem with colonies, asks Brooks? The birds have equivalent welfare to those in barns and free-range and the eggs are a cost-effective option with high biosecurity status.

“Colonies are practical and responsible and represent a very good middle option for most people,” he says.

ends

© Scoop Media