Save Animals from Exploitation and the Animal Law Association have filed a lawsuit in the High Court at Wellington against the Government for its failure to act on the ongoing use of farrowing crates.
The lawsuit claims the crates breach the Animal Welfare Act and the process putting the farrowing crate regulation in place was unlawful.
Safe spokesman Hans Kriek said farmers have been allowed to continue using farrowing crates despite the fact they breach the Act.
“Even the Government’s own animal welfare adviser, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, has said crates do not provide for the behavioural needs of mother pigs.”
Safe and the association want to compel the committee and the Government to act lawfully, improve their legal procedures and adopt a more robust legal understanding of their duties, Kriek said.
“Profit is being put before the welfare of mother pigs where they are prevented from expressing much of their natural behaviour.
“These crates are so small the pigs can’t even turn around. This is not only cruel but contrary to the intentions and obligations of the Animal Welfare Act.”
Association vice-president Cassandra Kenworthy said the committee has said on multiple occasions the use of farrowing crates does not meet the obligations of the Animal Welfare Act.
“Despite this, successive governments have failed to take action and it has now come to the stage where we must file proceedings for their failure to uphold the law.
“We will argue our case in court to ensure the Government takes action to remove farrowing crates from the pig industry,” Kenworthy said.
The welfare code for pigs, published last year by the Ministry for Primary Industries, said the use of farrowing crates stops piglets from being crushed.
The code does acknowledge the disadvantages of farrowing crates for the sow in that it does restrict the ability to carry out nest building behaviours.
Piglet death through crushing is the cause of 84% of mortality.
An MPI study on outdoor mortality showed an average 16.7% of deaths compared with 11.9% on farms where farrowing crates are used.
