brougham poultry farm
Shocking new footage taken by Farmwatch earlier this year inside a caged egg farm near Dunedin proves that NZ's current Animal Welfare laws are hardly worth the paper they're written on.
The caged egg farm, “Brougham Poultry Farm”, featured on TV One's 'Sunday' show in 2011 after footage of the conditions was supplied by animal rights activists. The feature led to a complaint being laid with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (now known as the Ministry for Primary Industries), who inspected the farm in November that year. Farmwatch recently obtained the inspection notes from this visit.
Inspectors found several breaches of the Code of Welfare, including overstocking of the cages, non-compliant cages, and the following concerns:
Farmwatch visited this farm to see if changes had been made following the inspection. The conditions that confronted the Farmwatch Action Team were virtually identical to those seen in 2011. Farmwatch found limbs that had been ripped off hens, areas crawling with insects, dead rats, manure that was still nearly touching the cages, a leaking roof, and many severely underweight and de-feathered hens. This farm is an utter hellhole, and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the egg industry know it. So why do these people keep getting away with such serious and severe abuse of animals?
The caged egg farm, “Brougham Poultry Farm”, featured on TV One's 'Sunday' show in 2011 after footage of the conditions was supplied by animal rights activists. The feature led to a complaint being laid with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (now known as the Ministry for Primary Industries), who inspected the farm in November that year. Farmwatch recently obtained the inspection notes from this visit.
Inspectors found several breaches of the Code of Welfare, including overstocking of the cages, non-compliant cages, and the following concerns:
- Hens’ extreme feather loss.
- Weight of the hens.
- Beak deformities.
- Excrement build up (that nearly touched the bottom of the cages).
- Building maintenance (including leaks in the roof which were causing food to spoil).
Farmwatch visited this farm to see if changes had been made following the inspection. The conditions that confronted the Farmwatch Action Team were virtually identical to those seen in 2011. Farmwatch found limbs that had been ripped off hens, areas crawling with insects, dead rats, manure that was still nearly touching the cages, a leaking roof, and many severely underweight and de-feathered hens. This farm is an utter hellhole, and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the egg industry know it. So why do these people keep getting away with such serious and severe abuse of animals?
The Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2012 (previously 2005) sets out minimum welfare standards that layer hen farmers must meet. Although Farmwatch does not accept that meeting these minimum standards is enough to meet a chicken's needs, this is all MPI can enforce under current legislation. The simple and disturbing truth is that they are not even doing that, and that the abuse continues because our Animal Welfare laws are virtually worthless.
The Animal Welfare laws need to change to ensure the welfare of farmed animals and for the animal welfare inspectors to actively enforce the law. The government is currently reviewing the Animal Welfare Act - our most important legislation concerning animals. And, shockingly, they are actually proposing to make some parts of the law even weaker.
Chickens are someone, not something. Please take action now to end this horrific abuse. You can find out more about chickens’ personalities and abilities on our website.
And if you really care about animals, you can help end the horror by 'being the change'. Take the extra step and go vegan! It's such an easy and powerful lifestyle choice we can all make that reduces animal suffering so much. Check out www.govegan.org.nz to find out more.
You can also view images from our visit to Brougham Poultry Farm on our facebook page.
The Animal Welfare laws need to change to ensure the welfare of farmed animals and for the animal welfare inspectors to actively enforce the law. The government is currently reviewing the Animal Welfare Act - our most important legislation concerning animals. And, shockingly, they are actually proposing to make some parts of the law even weaker.
Chickens are someone, not something. Please take action now to end this horrific abuse. You can find out more about chickens’ personalities and abilities on our website.
And if you really care about animals, you can help end the horror by 'being the change'. Take the extra step and go vegan! It's such an easy and powerful lifestyle choice we can all make that reduces animal suffering so much. Check out www.govegan.org.nz to find out more.
You can also view images from our visit to Brougham Poultry Farm on our facebook page.