Activist talks on pig cruelty

Sows squashed into crates so small they can't turn around, young pigs living in dark sheds until they are taken to slaughter, a miserable life of depression and pain.

That's the picture Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) campaign director Hans Kriek painted for the about 40 people who came to hear the animal activist talk in the Palmerston North library last night.

Their campaign against cruel pig farming methods began in earnest two years ago, but has gained momentum recently with the endorsement of comedian Mike King.

The celebrity who used to promote pork for the New Zealand pork board is now fronting the campaign against pig cruelty in factory farming.

It began with a Sunday current affairs news story, where King was shown breaking into a pig farm and was appalled at what he saw.

Last night, Mr Kriek said he had begun trying to get hold of King to inform him of the evils of factory farming where pigs are crammed next to each other in "sickening" conditions while he was still working for the pork board.

Eventually he got hold of him, and though King was initially skeptical, he soon realised he might not know the whole story about pork.

When activists convinced him to come to a pig farm to see for himself, he was left "completely and utterly in shock," Mr Kriek said.

"He was really guilty and ashamed he had promoted something for years that was so bad. I thought `how could people not know?' You just think everybody knows."

Factory farming still makes up approximately 28 per cent of New Zealand's pork industry, he said. Sows are kept in cramped conditions where they can't even turn around, while younger pigs lead a horrific existence.

"Here you have these young, inquisitive animals, living in their own faeces up to the time they go to slaughter. It's just sickening."

- © Fairfax NZ News