Press release:  Campaign Against Factory Farming (CAFF)

The Campaign Against Factory Farming welcomes the news that yet another broiler chicken and battery hen operation have been closed down in Papakura, following the successful prosecution of Wellington Egg Company owners Trevor and Sandi Chin last year.  However CAFF researcher Dr. Michael Morris points out that the poor welfare seen in the operations is not an aberration as claimed by the industry, but is standard industry practice.

“The modern broiler is a genetic freak”, says Morris, “it is bred to be so top heavy that its legs and heart cannot cope with its weight.  A recent study, commissioned by MAF, found that up to 40% of heavier broiler chickens in New Zealand have visible lameness, which has been associated with chronic pain.  Older chickens can be in constant pain for the last week of their life”.

“Battery hens do not fare much better.  Their cramped conditions mean that they are unable to display any of the normal patterns of behaviour common to the species.  The Regulations Review Committee found that keeping hens in battery cages breached the Animal Welfare Act and recommended they be phased out.  The Minister of Agriculture, following intensive lobbying by the industry, ignored this recommendation”.

CAFF urge all those concerned over the shocking treatment of hens and broiler chickens in the Golden Harvest facility not to be fooled by industry spin, but to avoid buying any eggs that are not clearly labelled “free range”, and to find alternatives to chicken meat.

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