Greens Put Up Animal Welfare Amendment To ERB
A new Green Party amendment put to the ERB today would have improved animal welfare under the bill, while at the same time extending the right to strike without three days notice to animal processing workers.
Ms Bradford said she was disappointed that she received no cross-party support on the amendment, which was voted down.
The amendment would have extended protection to all live animals being held for slaughter or export, by requiring three days strike notice from workers who are responsible for their care.
However it would also have left processing workers such as meat workers and fish processors free to stike without giving three days notice.
"The Green Party has looked into this and we have failed to identify any animal welfare concerns for animals once they're dead," said Ms Bradford.
Under the current schedule, process workers are included under the requirement to give three days notice. A second flaw of the schedule is that animals such as chickens and lobsters are excluded.
"We are delighted at the National Party's newfound concern for animal welfare. We trust it will not be confined to the days before and during a stike, and we look forward to their campaigning with us to eliminate practices that cause thousands of animals to suffer for 365 days per year - such as sow crates and battery hen cages," said Ms Bradford.
"Of course their failure vote with us to avoid the inhumane situation of any live animal being stranded in a crate or stockyard makes us just a little sceptical about their newfound concern."
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