Press release: Monday March 27th 2000

Major factory farming petition goes to parliament next week.

Animal rights campaigners will be presenting a petition with more than 75,000 signatures to parliament next week. The petition is calling for a ban on the sow crate which is used on many pig factory farms throughout New Zealand.

A rally will be held outside parliament at 12.30pm on Tuesday April 4th where the petition will be presented to the government.

Campaigners from the Wellington SPCA, Wellington Animal Action and Save Animals From Exploitation say the sow crate is cruel and unnecessary.

SPCA animal welfare manager Hans Kriek says "More than 20,000 sows in this country spend a large part of their lives in crates so small they cannot even turn around. This cruelty is totally unnecessary and has been banned in the United Kingdom. There is no reason why it can't be banned here."

Mark Eden from Wellington Animal Action says "The people of Aotearoa are opposed to animal cruelty and we are confident that we can abolish all factory farming in this country in the next 20 years. Abolishing the sow crate is only the first step towards eventually getting rid of the whole factory farm system".

Green Party MP Sue Kedgley will speak at the rally in parliament grounds where the petition will be presented to the government. Labour Party MP Damien O'Conner will receive the petition on behalf of the government.

For more info contact Hans Kriek, Wellington SPCA 389-8044 Mark Eden, Wellington Animal Action 385-6728

-- PO Box 6387, Te Aro, Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand) Phone 0064 04 385-6728

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