Summer Update

WORKING TOGETHER to make New Zealand SAFE for animals

2016

The Dark Side of NZ Dairy

Our investigation into the treatment of bobby calves sparked a massive public debate and raised awareness of a side of the dairy industry that many were unfamiliar with.

Few realised that in order to produce milk, a cow needs to have a baby every year, and that two million of these ‘bobby’ calves are killed annually in New Zealand as ‘by-products’ of the industry.

Footage of rough-handling during transportation, four-day old calves suffering in crates and a slaughterman violently kicking and throwing baby animals has been viewed by more than four million people and has provoked blanket television, newspaper and radio coverage.

Predictably, the government and dairy industry’s initial reaction was defensive, claiming that the footage was not representative without offering evidence of this and disregarding the fact that it was obtained from a number of different farms.

Following the exposé and ensuing public outrage, we met with MPI, Dairy New Zealand and Fonterra to discuss our concerns. They agreed that improvements are necessary and we will be watching closely to ensure that changes are made.

On TV One’s ‘Sunday’ programme on 29th November, SAFE and Farmwatch exposed shocking cruelty in the NZ dairy industry for the very first time.

SAFE Demands Action from Government

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has come under pressure for not acting when originally presented with footage of the horrific abuse of bobby calves, well before it was made public on the Sunday show on 29th November.

Currently, only 5% of animal cruelty complaints made to the Ministry result in prosecutions, and we believe that this is letting animals down badly.

On 18th December, we organised a demonstration outside MPI in Wellington to call for an independent voice for animals with sufficient funding to make a difference.

Following the latest in a series of failings at MPI, SAFE is calling for a truly independent voice for animals.

MPI is responsible for both promoting animal agriculture and enforcing animal welfare law – something that we believe represents an inherent conflict of interest.

Both Labour and the Green Party already have separate portfolios for animal welfare.

If you agree that animals need a truely independent voice, please write to:

Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister Parliament Office, Private Bag 18888, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160

Thanks to the support of more than 500 generous donors, SAFE was able to place an advertisement in the international media – including a quarter-page ad in the UK ‘Guardian’ newspaper – to raise awareness of the cruelty in every glass of milk and force the government and dairy industry to take the plight of bobby calves seriously.

Not only did this help us reach international consumers (95% of all NZ dairy is exported overseas), it also led to additional media coverage in New Zealand, including a re-print on the cover of the Dominion Post, and played a vital role in putting pressure on the government and industry to talk to us about initiatives to improve the welfare of bobby calves.

Thank you very much to everyone that contributed!

NZ Dairy: Contaminated with Cruelty

Colony Cage Con: We’re Hatching a Plan…

It is much, much bigger than that.

With laws failing animals, companies are in an increasingly powerful position to help end the abuse of animals in factory farms. McDonald’s is the perfect example, with their recent announcement that they will stop selling caged eggs throughout New Zealand by the end of the year. Imagine the domino effect if New Zealand’s largest supermarket chain did the same…

Countdown has told us that Kiwis are not motivated enough to demand change – and we need your help to prove them wrong.

Public disapproval of caging hens has led to a phase-out of standard battery cages by 2022. Sadly, yet another cruel cage system will replace them. In the new colony cages each hen has a living space barely larger than an A4 piece of paper.

Supermarket chain Countdown sells millions of cage eggs; every one laid by a hen confined to a life of misery. Countdown is owned by Woolworths Australia who committed to stopping selling cage eggs in Australia by 2018. We want Countdown to make the same commitment.

Of course, this is not just about one supermarket chain’s sale of cage eggs.

We need your help to free the three million layer hens still suffering in cages across New Zealand.

You can help by calling Countdown on 0800 40 40 40 and asking them to stop selling eggs from caged hens.

Following our success in getting Air New Zealand to remove scenes that glamourised rodeo from their ‘Where to next?’ advertisements, we realised that many companies supporting rodeo are completely unaware of the cruelty involved.

After hearing from SAFE, a number of companies issued statements that preclude supporting rodeo.

For example, MediaWorks told us: ‘We do not have any intention of sponsoring any rodeos in the future’, while Honda confirmed that they: ‘will not be sponsoring any rodeos.’

Update:

Ban Rodeo CrueltyRodeos would not be financially viable without sponsorship, so encouraging companies to review their support is a crucial part of bringing an end to rodeo cruelty in New Zealand.

We are also calling on the House of Representatives to ban rodeo altogether, and our petition has so far gained over 36,000 signatures.

We are aiming to reach 50,000 before we submit the petition to parliament, so please help by encouraging friends and family to add their names.

Visit safe.org.nz to sign the petition online, or contact Abi on: 09 361 5646 and a paper copy will be posted to you. Please ensure all forms are returned to us by 10th March to ensure they are included in the submission!

Over a Thousand Kiwis Pledge to Ditch Dairy

Following our recent exposé of NZ dairy farming, over 1,300 people were moved to ditch dairy for good, sending a clear message to the industry that consumers are prepared to take a stand against the suffering of cows and calves.

Furthermore, in the last year 1,400 Kiwis signed up for SAFE’s 30-day Go Veg Challenge to cut out animal products altogether.

Not only did this mean massive gains for animals, it also meant Kiwis were putting their health and the welfare of our planet first.

If you love animals but have not removed them from your diet yet, sign up for our 30-day Go Veg Challenge and receive weekly emails with recipes, advice on nutrition and tips for eating out.

Visit goveg.org.nz to get started!

SAFE Volunteers Take Action against Climate Change

On 28th November, hundreds of SAFE volunteers took part in events across the country to help raise awareness of a very important issue – the link between animal agriculture and climate change.

While environmentally conscious Kiwis are switching to energy saving light bulbs and taking shorter showers, many remain unaware that animal farming produces more greenhouse gas than all forms of transport put together.

By taking part in events such as these, SAFE volunteers help raise awareness of the fact that intensive animal farming is not only bad for animals, but bad for the environment too.

Contact laura@safe.org.nz or call: 03 379 9711 for more information about volunteering in your area.

Animals & Us: Mindful about Animals in Factory Farms

The ‘Animals & Us’ textbook series provides schools, teachers and students with relevant, factual information on the human-animal relationship.

The fifth textbook – ‘Animals in Factory Farms’ – includes the following curriculum-linked lessons:

Taking a Stand: Students will examine how animal advocates turned social action into justice for animals with the successful campaign to ban sow stalls.

‘Normal Behaviour’ in Factory Farms: An investigation into what constitutes ‘normal behaviour’ in factory farms will have science students conduct studies into animal behaviour and identify abnormal activities.

Bred for Meat: Is it a Life Worth Living?: The short and bitter life of the 100 million NZ meat chickens will be examined, with sensitive questions asked about the validity of breeding animals purely for profit.

Unlocking Factory Farms: English students will consider a range of texts on factory farming and animal sentience that debate the right of humans to inflict pain and suffering on other living beings for the sake of cheap meat and eggs.

Later this year, the long-awaited fifth ‘Animals & Us’ textbook will be sent to every secondary school in New Zealand.

A C R I T I C A L E V A L U A T I O N

ISSN: 117-3804

A HUMANE EDUCATIO

N RESOURCE

ISSUE: 1

A HUMANE EDUCATION RESOURCE

The first four textbooks can be found on our website or ordered by calling Nichola on: 03 379 9711

Your support is vital to all the successes achieved for animals so far, and for all the ones we know are to come.

Whether it is through sending e-mails, writing letters, signing petitions, collecting funds, lobbying MPs, donating to a campaign or adopting a veg diet, change only happens because of caring, compassionate New Zealanders like you. Thank you!

follow us:

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest: SAFEnewzealand YouTube: SAFEAnimalAdvocacyWebsite: SAFE.org.nz

Help spread the message about issues affecting animals by sharing this booklet with friends and family.

Pass it on!

On behalf of all animals in New Zealand: Thank you!