6 December 2012

Cruel cages remain on the menu

The Government has let down New Zealanders who care about animal welfare by continuing to allow cruel cages for egg laying chickens, the Green Party said today.

The Minister of Primary Industries has just released the new code of welfare for layer hens, and despite public opposition it still allows chickens to be kept in cruel cages. The Green Party have been calling on the Minister to reject any code of welfare that allows the continued use of cages to house chickens.

“These colony cages do not meet the fundamental purpose of the Animal Welfare Act. By releasing this code the Minister is entrenching the use of loopholes to allow factory farms to continue to keep animals in cruel conditions,” said Green Party animal welfare spokesperson Mojo Mathers.

“Consumers are rightfully rejecting eggs produced in these cruel ways, and so why are we continuing to make these cages lawful?

“This was an opportunity to make meaningful change to the lives of millions of chickens but the Minister has left them to suffer instead.

“I hope that the current review of the Animal Welfare Act will scrap the use of codes of welfare to justify cruel behaviour under the ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause. It is used too often to justify cruel factory farming,” said Ms Mathers.

To download a comparison of the different cage types: http://www.greens.org.nz/factsheets/cruel-eggs-are-stink-poster

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>