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The issues
Fair Go for Farm Animals
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Each year Australians consume an average of 137 eggs and 107
kilos of meat per person.
It’s not often that we stop to think where these products have
come from.
When you think of a farm, you might think of animals grazing in
wide open paddocks, sheepdogs, tractors and drovers on horseback.
But most of Australia’s meat and eggs does not come from the
traditional type of farm that you might imagine.
Farming today is big business, and in order to meet demand from
here and overseas, intensive methods have been developed that
promote high production levels for a lower cost and therefore,
greater profits.
Sadly, these profits often come at the cost of the animals’
welfare.
Each year, many of Australia’s farm animals suffer from
inhumane treatment and cruelty that most people would consider
unacceptable.
Yet, quietly and steadily, these cruel practices - such as
battery hen farming, live exports and the use of sow stalls –
continue.
They continue because they are not illegal: the RSPCA
Inspectors who enforce animal protection legislation cannot
prosecute for cruelty to animals, as long as producers are
operating within the bounds of the law.
In order to make these practices illegal, Australians must tell
their governments – federal and state - that cruelty to farm
animals will not be tolerated by our community.
WHAT DOES A FAIR GO FOR FARM ANIMALS MEAN?
In Australia, we often use the term ‘fair go’ to describe how
we think people should be treated. Our belief in a fair go is so
strong, it’s grown to become a part of our national culture.
The RSPCA believes that wherever animals are used by humans,
they must be treated humanely, compassionately and with
consideration.
The term ‘fair go’ emphasises that the RSPCA does not oppose
the farming of animals. We just think they should be given a fair
go.
A ‘Fair Go for Farm Animals’ means the RSPCA believes that as
long as farm animals are in our care, we have a responsibility to
provide for (at least) their basic needs, in accordance with the
RSPCA’s Five Freedoms.
These basic needs may vary between animals but can be described
in general terms: providing adequate space, food, and water;
veterinary treatment when required; shelter from the elements; and
the freedom to express some essential natural behaviours.
And if the animal is to be slaughtered, it should be done
quickly and humanely.
Some people think that because these animals will eventually
die anyway, it’s okay to treat them badly (it’s not).
Or that caring about farm animals means they won’t be able to
eat meat and eggs anymore (it doesn’t).
Animals in Australia’s farms don’t have a union to represent
them. They have no way to argue for fair treatment or better
conditions.
Together with the RSPCA, you can be the voice that demands farm
animals be given a FAIR GO.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
The Fair Go for Farm Animals campaign will focus on three
issues that the RSPCA believes are among the most important
welfare concerns faced by farm animals today.
Fair Go for sows
You’ve heard the phrase, ‘as happy as a pig in mud”? Well, you
can be sure a pregnant sow that spends most of her life in a metal
crate that is only 60cm wide with a concrete floor is not happy!
She can barely move or even turn her head.
Pigs are intelligent sociable animals, and if kept outdoors,
wil spend many hours exploring their surroundings.
But a sow in a stall can’t really mix with other pigs or her
environment, which may cause her distress and frustration.
Keeping a pregnant sow in a stall may provide some protection
from possible injury, can limit aggression between animals, and
allows producers to watch nutritional intake of individuals more
closely.
But due to the physical restriction and boredom, a sow in a
stall may develop severe physical and behavioural problems.
Muscles and bones may deteriorate, causing pain and difficulty
in moving. Increased aggression and a repetitive swaying of the
head may also develop.
These problems can be avoided by using a more humane system,
such as group housing several pigs in a straw yard, where they
have room to move around. Individual or electronic feeders can
also be used to regulate food intake.
Fair Go for hens
There isn’t much doubt as to which comes first in Australia’s
egg industry.
Most of Australia’s eggs are produced in cage (battery)
systems, which are a cheap and efficient way to produce a lot of
eggs at a lower cost.
Unfortunately, this usually means each hen is standing on a
wire floor space the size of an A4 sheet of paper for her entire
adult life.
Eventually this is likely to cause crippling and painful
injuries and deformities to her feet and legs.
She can’t move freely, stretch or flap her wings. Hens have a
very strong natural instinct to perch and lay their eggs in a
nest, and these behaviours are completely denied in a battery
system.
Already, many producers are using more humane barn-laid and
free range egg systems that provide protection from the elements
and predators, while allowing the hens to move around and behave
more naturally (perching, dust bathing and so forth).
Fair Go for livestock
The long sea journey faced by up to 7 million Australian sheep,
cattle and goats each year is no pleasure cruise.
Many are transported long distances within Australia before
reaching holding yards or feedlots, where they are then loaded
onto enormous ships destined for Asia or the Middle East, with as
many as 60,000 animals on one vessel.
The perilous journey from farm to slaughter can take up to
three months in total, and each year, tens of thousands of
Australian animals will die as a result of any one cause, or
combination of the following: hunger, thirst, serious injury,
excessive heat and/or high levels of stress.
In addition, countless more will suffer but survive, only to
reach a destination where the Australian government has no control
over their treatment – including how they are further transported,
cared for and how humanely they are slaughtered.
What makes this situation even more reprehensible is that
continuing live exports is completely unnecessary.
There is an alternative – livestock that is to be slaughtered
should be humanely slaughtered here in Australia. The chilled or
frozen meat can then be transported to other parts of the country
or overseas as required.
In 2004, around 123 Australian abattoirs were already Halal
certified, meaning they can process meat according to these strict
religious and cultural requirements.
Australia already exports chilled and frozen meat to every
significant market for live exports. This also means Australian
live exports are actually competing with Australia chilled and
frozen meat in the same overseas markets!
For example, a 16% drop in live sheep exports resulted in a 10%
increase in sheep slaughter in Australia during the 2004/2005
financial year. For as long as live exports continue, chilled meat
exports will not realise their potential.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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