Threat of legal action delays pig welfare report

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A threat of legal action from pig farmers has delayed the release of a new review of the national welfare code for pigs.

The pig farmers said they would sue if the new welfare code was put out for public consultation before further talks were held with the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) which wrote the code, a spokeswoman for NAWAC said.

The delay has not pleased Agriculture Minister David Carter, who told a told a pork industry conference in Christchurch earlier this year that farmers had not done "well enough" to clean up their industry.

The minister's comment followed TV broadcasting a video taken by animal rights protesters during a break-in at a Levin piggery.

Today Mr Carter said he was "disappointed" as the draft code needed to be out urgently.

"I asked the (committee) to review the code urgently so it could release a draft for consultation by the end of the year."

But an unprecedented threat of legal action over the release of the draft code had derailed the process, he said.

"This is disappointing as I realise there is a high level of public concern over the issue of pig welfare."

But Mr Carter said NAWAC should protect itself from litigation and the best course of action was for the committee to consult further with the Pork Industry Board before releasing the draft for public consultation.

The committee had proposed speeding up by three years a restriction on the use of dry stalls – in which sows are closely confined for four weeks – so that it takes effect from December 2012.

Under the existing 2005 pig code the amount of time a sow can be kept in a dry stall will only be reduced to four weeks after mating from 2015, and Mr Carter has previously said he thought that lead-in time was too long.

But the committee said today the pig industry does not want a further proposal to ban the use of sow stalls altogether.

"The industry has so far indicated that it is strongly opposed to any future ban," NAWAC chairman John Hellstrom said.

The committee wanted to ensure its processes were as robust as possible, so "will be further consulting with the pig industry and other affected parties" before releasing the draft code.

The committee was aiming to begin public consultation "some time early in 2010."

- NZPA