Farrowing requirements

A reminder to pork producers about their obligations for farrowing: the current requirements are set out within Minimum Standard No. 10 in the Animal Welfare (Pigs) Code of Welfare 2010 .

In particular if you are constructing new farrowing systems, please note (h) ‘in any farrowing system constructed after December 2010 sows must be provided with manipulable material until farrowing'.

Please direct any questions to Ian Barugh or Frances Clement

National Animal Welfare Strategy released

The Hon. Nathan Guy, Minister for Primary Industries, has released ‘Animal Welfare Matters’ providing an overall plan in respect of animal welfare in NZ and identifying areas where improvements can be made.

The strategy makes clear that the immediate focus is to improve compliance with current standards. It highlights 4 areas where improvements can be made which are:

  • Better planning to prevent animal welfare problems
  • Better animal husbandry, science and technology
  • Clear expectations and sanctions, with help for people to comply
  • Measuring animal welfare performance.

The strategy further reinforces New Zealand’s commitment to animal welfare. It highlights expectations of animal owners/persons in charge of providing for animal welfare. It also highlights the responsibilities of sector groups in providing leadership (including industry education) about meeting welfare standards, implementation of welfare assurance schemes (such as PigCare™), building husbandry skills, and public / consumer education.

The release comes after public consultation last year and will be followed by proposed changes to the law in the form of an Animal Welfare Bill. NZPork will assess the recently tabled Bill for any possible impact on the industry, and will submit to the Select Committee as appropriate.

Please direct any questions to Frances Clement 

Inspection powers under the Animal Welfare Act 1999

Inspection powers under the Act are very broad, entitling Inspectors to enter property to inspect animals at any reasonable time. A full copy of the act is available here

Animal welfare inspectors may be appointed from within the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) or SPCAs – which are ‘approved’ organisations under the Animal Welfare Act. Members of the police also have powers under the Act.

Under the Act, an owner/person in charge of an animal is entitled to ask for/seek a veterinary opinion if there is a difference of opinion between that person and the Inspector in regard to treatment of an animal/animals or actions determined to be appropriate as a result of the inspection.

Farmwatch Incursion – What do we have to say?

In March this year, a vegan lobby group, ‘Farmwatch’, broke into a pig farm in Canterbury. The conditions found were not within industry standards and are not condoned by NZPork. However, at the time the activists broke into the farm it had already been identified as below industry required standards and a process had begun to fix the issues. Read on for more information.

Tail Biting

Dr Johan Zonderland has prepared a good practice guide to assist New Zealand pig farmers to minimise and manage tail biting . Based on his Dutch PhD thesis “Talking Tails” the guide has been reviewed by NZPork for its applicability to New Zealand pig farming.

Animal Welfare

Information on the health and welfare of pigs.

The health and welfare of pigs is probably more dependent on the farmer's ability to properly manage the system, rather than on the specific type of housing system itself.

Good stockmanship is therefore vital in achieving the good health and welfare of the herd.

Efficient farming methods are dependent on high levels of health and welfare and farmers are constantly striving to maintain conditions that will maximise pig comfort and minimise the risk of poor health. The New Zealand pig industry can be proud that it has an extremely high health status compared with overseas countries. This can in part be attributed to its geographical isolation.

New Zealand as a nation has a proud record in regard to animal welfare including its current legislation, the Animal Welfare Act 1999. This Act establishes the fundamental obligations relating to the care of animals. The Act also allows for the issue of codes of welfare which set out minimum standards and recommendations relating to all aspects of care for a particular species.

Farmer representatives Animal Welfare Toolkit

When animal welfare incidents arise a key requirement is address animal suffering quickly and effectively. In 2006 the New Zealand Pork , Federated Farmers and MAF collaborated to produce  "A practical toolkit for helping farmers to resolve animal welfare incidents" intended to help guide and support farmers through animal welfare incidents.

In June 2012 the Minister for Primary Industries, the Hon. David Carter launched the Farmer Representatives Animal Welfare Toolkit. The toolkit is a revision of the 2006 publication and was produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries in collaboration with NZ Pork, Federated Farmers, Deer Industry NZ, the NZ Veterinary Association, Dairy NZ, Beef+Lamb NZ, the Poultry Industry Association of NZ, Egg Producers Federation, and Rural Women NZ.

The toolkit is designed for farmer representatives who are asked to become part of an animal welfare response by an industry organisation, Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), or by a farmer requesting support.

Download a copy of the toolkit from NZPork or from MPI at http://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-resources/publications and search ‘Animal Welfare Toolkit’.

Code of Welfare for Pigs

The Animal Welfare (Pigs) Code of Welfare 2010 has been issued by the Minister of Agriculture, on the recommendation of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC). The Code is effective from 3 December 2010 and covers all aspects of pig farming, and has the support of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board. In time codes of welfare covering Transportation and Slaughter will be issued – currently advisory codes are available.

The code is available for download from MAF or contact NZPork for your copy.

Welfare Code - download PDF files

Welfare research - download PDF files

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Great recipes for cooking 100% NZ pork
Farmer representatives Animal Wlfare Toolkit

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