She presented an excellent speech at the conference, very brave and seemed to indicate that the RSPCA has had enough with the pace of progress.

Hi PF

Yes, in the interview I heard, she was very strong on sow stalls and battery cages, and threw a challenge to the public in terms of their acceptance of these methods. She touched on live exports but that interview didn't go into detail on that.

Were you there? I'd love to have been able to make it.

Cheers
Nicky

Pf

I couldnt attend personally however 'yes' our people were there.

I missed the ABC interview however. Sounds really interesting.
Something must have changed in the last 'six weeks'.

Last I spoke with Heather Neil she said this Government were the best chance to end live exports and were keen to do so?
I must have misunderstood Tony Burkes recent doc on Land Line.

Regardless the answer to live exports- and intensive farming is for more people with basic morals and good animal welfare policies like yourself PF.
Already 50% of real farmers are gone and been taken over by the big coperations.
I am sure you know the rest... More free Range Farmers and Abattoirs In Australia If we are ever to curb at least 'some of the cruelty.

RSPCA urges less compromise

The RSPCA today said it was time for animal welfare groups to be less compromising and to encourage more people to make their voices heard if animal welfare is going to improve in Australia.

...Dr Bidda Jones made the comments in her keynote address to the International Animal Welfare Conference, Gold Coast.

Dr Jones detailed the progress of three major animal welfare issues in Australia; battery farming, live exports and vertebrate pest management.

“When you look closely at these issues it becomes clear that the balance between a conciliatory and a confrontational approach has been weighted so far towards compromise - that little has been gained for Australian animals,” Dr Jones said.

“A decade ago science dictated that the 10.5 million egg laying hens living in battery cages suffered miserably throughout their lives.

"Consumers started voting with their wallets and today one in four people buy cage-free eggs.

“Despite the fact that 84pc of people agree with the scientists that battery cages are unacceptable, in 2007 there were one million more hens living in cages and they still had less space each than the size of an A4 piece of paper.

“History paints a similar picture of the live export and pest management issues.

"It’s a sad reality that ten years doesn’t seem to be enough to achieve a major goal in animal welfare.

“We have reached a stage where animal welfare is firmly on the agenda of governments and industries but while this is a good start, there is still a strong resistance to any meaningful change.

“Despite the high profile and public standing of organisations like the RSPCA, when it comes to policy-making, governments listen much more attentively to economic reasons than to ethical ones.

“There is room for optimism.

"Public perception is continuing to shift in favour of the positions put forward by animal welfare groups with a more informed and empowered consumer emerging.

“We need more consumers and members of the community to speak up and help the RSPCA force change to improve the treatment of animals in Australia.”

http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/livestock/news/rspca-ready-to-belt-farmers/1259427.aspx

Nicky

The 'strategy' of the Aust Animal Welfare Strategy seems to be, lets get all the welfare groups, industry and scientists together in one place and sell it to the public and media as everyone working in harmony with a common goal - the betterment of animal welfare in australia.

How do those scientists fit such big brains into such narrow minds?

While the conference had many international speakers that explained at great length the demands for better welfare by consumers in their countries, the industry here seems to have taken the few 'why do we have to things the same way as other countries' They are going to continue to ignore the consumers here because 'they just do not understand the needs of industry' I hope its not long before that attitude comes around and bites them!

Hi PF

Excellent comment. Who from the animal welfare movement was there? I remember when submissions were called into the proposed "Standards" the "strategy" was represented by large numbers from the industry groups with minimal consultation from the animal welfare community.

Meanwhile, have a look at this - I'd be interested in your comments. Are your pigs "standard" breeds like these?

http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/livestock/pigs/goondi-pigs-living-free-easy-and-delivering-profits/1262739.aspx?src=enews

If more and more of this gets out there, and as the public becomes more and more aware (I find the supermarkets the most stubborn as well - they just look blank when you mention "free range". One "meat manager" said "we only buy pork products from local producers who comply with the code of practice". When I told him what the code of practice provides for he refused to discuss it any further).

Is it always going to a battle when the retailers are so resistant? What do we do about that? They don't even reply to letters any more.

Cheers
Nicky