Hon David Carter
Minister for Primary Industries

6 December 2012

New welfare code to phase out battery cages

Battery cages for layer hens are to be phased out under a new Code of Welfare released today by Primary Industries Minister David Carter.

From tomorrow (7 December), no new battery cages can be installed by egg producers and a staged phase-out of existing cages will begin. By 2022, all battery cages will be prohibited.

“Scientific evidence and strong public opinion have made it clear that change is necessary. We need alternatives to battery cages,” says Mr Carter.

The Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2012 will allow layer hens to be kept in colony cages, a larger cage system that meets the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act, or in barn or free range systems.

“An immediate prohibition of battery cages would have an unacceptable impact on egg prices, industry structure and the stability of egg supply. The phased approach balances the welfare of layer hens with the time needed for producers to transition to other systems,” Mr Carter says.

“Over 80 percent of New Zealand eggs are currently laid in battery cages so this is a major shift for the egg industry and it needs to be handled appropriately.

“Under the new Code, about 45 percent of battery cages will be gone by 2018,” Mr Carter says.

The Code was developed by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), an independent committee set up to provide expert animal welfare advice to the Minister.

For further information click here.

ENDS

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Mighty River: 'Mum And Dad’ Investors Myth Busted

Green Party research, confirmed by Treasury, shows that half of the shares in Mighty River Power that National sold to retail investors went to just 13,000 people and that 10 percent of the retail shares went to just 400 wealthy people and organisations, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

The sale of Mighty River Power saw 113,000 retail investors, referred to as ‘mum and dad’ investors by the National Government, buy 26.9 percent of the company. Analysis by the Greens and Treasury shows that half of those shares were, in fact, purchased by fewer than 13,000 people who bought an average of nearly $35,000 worth of shares...

“The truth is that 98 percent of New Zealanders bought no shares at all. Half the retail shares went to just 0.3 percent of the population, and a tiny group of just 400 wealthy individuals and organisations got 10 percent of the retail shares. More>>