The Pork Industry Board is again in the gun over pig welfare, following the release of a letter from the board expressing concern over possible embarrassment at the results of a recent audit of pig welfare on New Zealand farms. The letter was released to the animal welfare group SAFE by a vet involved in the audit.
The letter claimed: “It’s likely there will be a number of farms requiring corrective actions and those actions could cause embarrassment to the farmer if made public and could cause embarrassment to the industry if used by animal welfarists.”
The audit was commissioned by the Pork Industry Board following allegations last year about poor animal welfare standards on at least one pig farm, as revealed by entertainer Mike King in March 2009, and again last week by SAFE activists and TVNZ reporters.
“It’s an industry which is in damage control at the moment as their cruel practices are being exposed over and over again,” SAFE spokesman Hans Kriek commented.
Questioned in Parliament by Green Party member Sue Kedgely, the Minister of Agriculture David Carter responded that he had no power to monitor the Pork Industry Board’s animal welfare activities, or its adherence to the Official Information Act.
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