Page 13 - Sept

Animal activists disrupt BaconFest
* from P12
pigs – often subjected to overcrowding, overheating and motion sickness – and can legally be trucked without food or water for up to 24 hours.
classes processed meats – including bacon, ham, sa- lami and pepperoni – as Group 1 carcinogens.
These gentle beings expe- rience many of the feelings that humans do – including fear, pain, joy and content- ment.
Ms Holly said.
“Instead, Australian poli-
Animals that do survive the journey to the slaugh- terhouse are killed using carbon dioxide stunning systems – which are more accurately known as gas chambers.
This places processed pork products such as bacon in the same cancer- risk category as asbestos or smoking.
The Australian pork in- dustry is responsible for the suffering and slaughter of millions of pigs every year.
cymakers should redirect efforts to assist farmers with the transition towards more sustainable business alternatives.
As ALQ shares, when carbon dioxide enters the pigs’ eyes, nostrils, mouth and lungs, it acidifies.
In short, pork production represents an intolerable threat to the wellbeing of humans and pigs alike. The impact on environ- ment and climate
The good news is that there is another way for- ward.
“This is a major opportu- nity for farmers who wish to transition to greener food production.”
For pigs, this would feel as though they are burning from the inside out.
Intensive animal agricul- ture affects our environ- ment and climate.
ALQ is calling on Aus- tralian governments at every level – local, state and federal – to take deci- sive action to address the issues outlined in its pork industry report.
Animal Liberation Queensland is calling on consumers to visit bacon. org.au
The RSPCA recom- mends that “stunning and killing pigs with high con- centrations of CO2 should be phased out and replaced with a more humane alter- native.”
When it comes to pigs, their excrement has a major influence on natural eco- systems.
“It’s time to stop sup- porting an industry that damages our environment, kills millions of innocent animals and poses a major threat to human health,”
Here, individuals can contact policymakers to call for major policy reform and industry change.
Ms Holly said, “Australia is decades behind other countries when it comes to animal welfare laws, espe- cially concerning pigs.”
Humans have manipu- lated pig growth patterns and today’s species need to eat an extraordinary amount.
A full version of the ALQ report is available for free download at bacon.org.au
According to ALQ, pig farming represents multiple threats to human health.
At a time when mil- lions have been killed and the world irrevocably changed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been more public awareness around zoonotic diseases.
Finally, pig farming can be linked to climate change.
All the while, intensive pig farming represents an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
Gerard Wedderburn-Bis- shop worked as a principal scientist with Queensland Government Natural Re- sources and provided a complete emissions break- down within the ALQ re- port.
Globally, pig farming has been associated with out- breaks of African swine fever, swine flu, Japanese encephalitis and Nipah virus.
“A major flaw is the self- regulation of this industry,” Mr Wedderburn-Bisshop said.
As ALQ’s report further discusses, last year the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis estimated there was a 42 percent probability that Australia would experi- ence another major animal- related disease outbreak in the next five years.
“Australian Pork Limited, an industry body, pub- lishes its own best-practice national environmental guidelines.
Antibiotics fed to Aus- tralian pigs are also among the highest globally, meaning that antibiotic re- sistance poses a real danger to our community health.
“Effectively, an industry body is setting its own en- vironmental standards, but these are not mandatory, they are merely guidelines.
When pathogens become resistant to antibiotics, in- fections are harder to fight.
“Keeping in mind the colossal levels of effluent production, biohazardous carcass disposal, along with the prospect of air, water and soil pollution, it’s fair to say piggeries pose a quantifiable risk to our en- vironment, to vegetation, to wildlife and humans.”
This can lead to serious illness and death.
The way forward
In this country, pigs are fed almost triple the level of antibiotics as in the United Kingdom.
Pigs are social animals with highly evolved com- munication methods and demonstrable emotional bonds.
Certain growth pro- moting antibiotics are also used in Australia, despite being banned in the Euro- pean Union.
Studies show pigs possess behavioural traits similar to dogs or chimpanzees.
Meantime, the World Health Organisation
Above all, pigs are emo- tionally intelligent.
Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2022 – Page 13
www.porknews.com.au
In Australia, the Cancer Council recommends avoiding processed meats completely.
This industry is linked with unacceptable levels of environmental destruction, along with intolerable risks to human health.
“Plant-based foods are a booming market both at home and abroad, and as more consumers choose to include vegan foods in their diets, demand for plant-based producers only increases.
Transportation is a highly stressful experience for pigs – often subjected to over- crowding, overheating and motion sickness – and can legally be trucked without food or water for up to 24 hours.
Despite industry guidelines, deceased pig carcasses are often left to rot com- pletely uncovered in open mass graves.
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“Supposed protection laws favour productivity over animal welfare, and there is no independent governing body or inspec- torate to oversee cruelty concerns within animal ag- ribusiness.
Pigs now produce ap- proximately five times the amount of excrement that humans do, equating to some 11.5 million tonnes of waste being generated at any given time.
“While the intelligence of an animal should not deter- mine the welfare we afford them, the fact is pigs are widely accepted as being more intelligent than the dogs we share our homes with.
As ALQ describes, this enormous volume of ex- crement often ends up in effluent ponds, which can become highly toxic due to pathogens found in pigs’ bodies.
“Australians would never accept such shocking con- ditions for dogs.
Without proper manage- ment, effluent waste can spread throughout the en- vironment, to the detriment of soils, groundwater or watercourses.
“We should not accept this callous treatment of pigs either.”
The impact on human health
As ALQ’s industry report also details, pig farming can be directly associ- ated with other serious environmental hazards, such as nitrogen pollution, water waste, overpowering odours, non-compliant carcass disposal and bio- security breaches.
Greenhouse emissions arise throughout the entire pork production chain.