[Greens-Media] PARNELL: Greens Announce Animal Welfare Reform

[Taylor, Sam]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 28th February 2014
Greens Announce Animal Welfare Reform

The SA Greens today pledged to introduce new legislation for animal welfare reform when Parliament resumes. This is on the back of ground-breaking new legislation in the ACT that bans "sow stalls" in piggeries and battery hen cages in chicken facilities.

"It's now time for South Australia to take a stand on the ethical treatment of animals", said Mark Parnell MLC, Parliamentary leader of the Greens.
"The Greens have always taken the issue of animal welfare very seriously. In fact we are the only party in the SA Parliament to have a specific Animal Welfare portfolio.

"Setting high standards for the ethical treatment of animals, particularly in food production, is consistent with South Australia's claim to be clean and green. This will be good for local business and the promotion of our premium products."

The Greens suite of reforms will include:
* Banning cruel sow stalls which confine breeding pigs spaces so tight that they can't even turn around;
* Banning battery hen cages, where each bird has less space than an A4 sheet of paper;
* Introducing 'true free range' food labeling laws to prevent dodgy claims that mislead consumers.  At present, some egg producers with 20,000 birds per hectare are labeling their eggs "free range";
* Ending live animal exports from South Australian ports.  Last year, over 3,000 South Australian sheep died at sea on a single voyage. There are many more jobs in local processing of meat than in live exports;
* Banning jumps racing;
* Banning recreational duck shooting; and
* Cracking down on "puppy farms".

"With South Australia increasingly marketing itself interstate and overseas on the basis of its quality food and wine, it's time to back up the rhetoric with some real action that treats animals ethically", concluded Mark Parnell.

For further information contact Mark Parnell: 0439 215 937





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