Hannah+Oral

Listen to my speech! media type="custom" key="4253329"
 * //__My Speech__//**

If you were a pig waiting to be taken to the butchers were would you want to spend your last few months of life? In green fields with a good food supply, sunshine and shelter, or locked in cages only 0.6 metres wide and only 2 metres long suffering from extreme depression and cruelty? I’m not sure where you would rather be but I can tell you this lots of the pork we eat at home come from company’s that treat their pigs like vermin. I believe that farm animals should be given the same rights that domestic animals have. New Zealand Pork is a good example of one of these companies that mistreat their animals. You may recognise Mike King from the New Zealand Pork ad. He signed up to advertise their pork without first knowing where it came from and how the pigs were treated. Earlier this year he broke into the sheds in which the pigs were kept. He videoed the living conditions of these pigs and later showed the footage on the current events show, Sunday. I watched this video and was appalled at the state these pigs are kept in. Many pork companies that treat their pigs in inhumane ways do so in the following ways. Each pig is kept in pens 0.6mx2m; this barely gives them enough room to turn round or to sit down. The pig’s individual stalls aren’t cleaned out daily meaning that they are forced to live in their on dung let alone the horrible smell it makes. This is just disgusting. Naturally pigs will go toilet in a place separate from the rest of the field yet the concrete floor of these tiny cages do not allow this. Among the pigs that are kept in these horrible there are pregnant sows as well. Just before birth the sow is put into another cage, only 20 cms wider than the other cages were she gives birth and will care for her young for up to 6 weeks before the piglets are taken and put in crowded cages for fattening. What’s wrong with this is firstly the cages were the sows confined aren’t big enough for sow to mother piglets properly, secondly only 3 days after birth the piglet’s eyeteeth cut and their tails are docked. They are also usually drugged or given antibiotics. Finally, the time that the piglet should be looked after by mother is literally cut in half. Many pigs in harsh living conditions also suffer from health problems including boredom, aggression, weak bones/muscles, and urinary tract infections. Along with depression and frustration which usually leads to the pig chewing on the bars of their cage. This is only one example of the type of abuse many different animals have to suffer. There are no laws in NZ that protect farm animals of large companies. Only nine New Zealand pig farms passed the pig welfare certification code developed by SPCA 2 years ago. I think that those farms that didn’t pass are taking the fact that there are no laws for pig farming for granted. Pigs not the only creature that suffers the abuse of commercial farming. For example; some chickens suffer not enough floor space per chicken, this leads to stress and disease because not being able to carry out their natural habits. Now you know what the living conditions are like for these poor animals. One of the only ways we can help these animals is to eat free range pork along with free range eggs, chicken, beef and other meats or animal processed foods. Finally for examples I have just stated I believe that the legal protection for domestic animals should extended to farm animals as well especially if is for commercial farming.