Helen Houghton
Co-leader New Conservative
If you are anything like us, a good feed of bacon and eggs is one of life’s great pleasures. But shockingly, the Labour/Green Government has enacted poorly thought-out legislation which threatens to end indoor pig farming.
The new laws say that agriculture must rely on soil fertility. Because pig farming does not directly rely on soil fertility, it will not be permissible in many places where pig farms are at present. However pigs eat grain produced from the fertile ground and after processing, pork meat meal and their manure become fertiliser.
We are seeing ever more extreme welfare measures for pigs and laying hens. Emotion is driving the animal welfare pressure groups, and often the outcomes are not supported by science.
Farrowing crates have been banned and are being phased out in New Zealand, increasing the risk of squashing newborn piglets. NZ Pork CEO Brent Kleiss says, “Removing the farrowing crates is not what animal welfare science supports and more consultation on the new regulations is needed.” The pork industry claims the Government has failed to consider piglet welfare and points out that the US, Australia, and Canada use crates the way New Zealand does.
It says of the 600,000 pigs born here each year, 60,000 will die if farrowing crates are banned – that’s one in 10.
To top that off, the government intends to tax pig and hen manure.
The race toward free range only for pigs and hens will close our indoor facilities. Our hens will only lay in the months with extended sunlight hours, so what will our community do for year-round eggs?
Even so, there was a shortage of eggs on the shelves this week and it will be worse over the coming months. These are the best months and the reality is that many areas of New Zealand are unsuitable for year-round free-range farming.
For a decade now, government policy has been to import pork from Europe, where animal welfare standards are far lower than New Zealand and overseas farmers also get subsidies. Bakers are talking about importing egg whites for pavlovas – the Kiwi icon not so Kiwi without New Zealand eggs.
It is hypocritical to persecute our farmers and open the doors to imports in the name of animal welfare!
Many of New Zealand’s poultry and pig farmers are considering going out of business, or already have, because our shoppers typically go for lower prices. The consumer should be able to choose what they want to eat – free-range eggs, barn or cage eggs. Due to higher prices, families are struggling to put food on their tables, and the government’s proposals are making it more challenging by increasing the cost of food from New Zealand farmers. This trend will add to a ticking timebomb of bad food choices and destroy our farming community! For this to occur at a time when we have a ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ is bad management and creates even further poverty in our families.
New Conservatives believe in good animal welfare and environmental standards, but these must not sacrifice food production. Decent farmers know how to look after their stock, and we must ensure their businesses go from strength to strength.
New Zealand must be self-reliant and proud of our food production. We have already seen the disruption caused by COVID. All it takes is one ship to pass us by or one container not to arrive, and we’re all out of pavlova, bacon, and egg McMuffins!
