NZPork's New Ad Campaign Backfires

The New Zealand Pork Industry’s sexist new ad campaign imploring men to "man up” and “give mum a night off cooking” has also led to further criticism of their animal welfare standards. NZPork have been slammed on social media for their campaign to give mums a break - by asking for them to get a night out of the kitchen. The NZPork Facebook page has been flooded with complaints. People are up in arms not only about the 1950s attitude the campaign represents, but also about another set of mums - the mother pigs who are still suffering in horrendous farrowing crates.

Although sow stalls will be illegal from the end of this year, farrowing crates for nursing mothers are still allowed. Mother pigs are confined in farrowing crates for up to five weeks, unable to nurse their piglets properly or even turn around.

“It is unbelievable that NZPork thought that the public would just forget about how mums are really treated on a pig farm,” says SAFE head of campaigns, Mandy Carter, “it seems a cynical ploy to entice men to their products since they know most women oppose their abusive practices. We’re calling on the pork industry to give ALL mums a break, by getting rid of their abusive confinement systems.”

Last year the pork industry was exposed three times with undercover footage revealing physical abuse, neglect and standard factory farmed cruelty. The exposes led to a national outcry with people demanding change.

SAFE believes that efforts by the pork industry to fix their image will be futile until they ban all cruel factory farming practices for good.

Many of the 700,000 pigs reared in New Zealand are deprived of space and bedding and are forced to lie in faecal matter their entire lives.

In New Zealand over 30,000 sows are confined in farrowing crates where they are unable even to turn around. These animals can suffer leg weakness and other health problems and often exhibit unnatural behaviour such as bar biting, indicating that they are under severe stress.

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