Apologies if this first article has already been posted. Please see related articles.

From Rural News : LIVESTOCK

Animal rights group targets pork's peak period
By MICHAEL THOMSON - Australia
Monday, 5 December 2005

The pork industry has come under fire from an animal extremist group in a deliberate campaign to disrupt sales of the traditional Christmas dish.

Voiceless, a Sydney-based animal rights group, this morning released a report entitled From Paddocks to Prisons, which is highly critical of the intensive pork industry.

It claims 90pc of Christmas hams are sourced from factory farms, where pigs live in "cramped indoor cages on concrete floors with barely enough room to move around".

It would prefer pigs to be produced using free-range methods.

It wants consumers to shun the Christmas hams until they this is the standard.

Australian Pork Ltd has slammed the report as the work of
an "extremist group" that represents "a menace to society".

"They seek to establish themselves as messiahs of public conscience, in circumstances where their lack of knowledge about their chosen cause means they should be regarded as nothing more than false prophets," APL spokesman, John Lamont, said.

"The actions of extremist groups, like Voiceless, in peddling this information in schools under the banner of being educational is something parents and educators should be concerned with.


"Groups such as these prey upon the ignorance of city kids with no
real connection to the land filling their heads with nonsense.

"This is not education. It's a brainwashing exercise."

Mr Lamont also rejected calls for all pigs to be produced free range.

He says only 3-5pc of Australia's land mass is suitable for such a production method.

"Under the Australian sun, pigs, like humans suffer from sunburn and get skin cancer," he said.

"So far from being a positive animal welfare practice, widespread free range production would be horrendously cruel.

"It would not result in positive animal welfare."

Agriculture Minister, Peter McGauran, says the group is going too far when it tries to assign 'human rights' to animals.

However, Mr McGauran says Voiceless, which has used peaceful means of putting its flawed argument, should not be considered in the same league as groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has resorted to violence to get its way.

The Government had previously asked Voiceless to sit on the National Consultative Committee for Animal Welfare, an offer Voiceless turned
down due to the knowledge that it would not be successful in
changing Government policy.

SOURCE: Canberra News Bureau, Rural Press Agricultural Publishing.


For more information about terrible conditions Australian pigs
endure please visit Animals Australia site -
http://www.savebabe.com

Please also contact to Australian pork Limited
Email apl@australianpork.com.au
Postal address
Australian Pork Limited
PO Box 148
DEAKIN WEST ACT 2600 Australia

Telephone and facsimile numbers
Telephone: (02) 6285 2200 outside Australia please call 011612 6285 2200
Freecall 1800 789 099 (within Australia)
Facsimile: (02) 6285 2288 (within Australia)
outside please 01161262852288


Sample letter:

To Australian Pork Limited

I will be urging everyone to boycott APL and all its products until you drastically improve conditions for these intelligent animals eg banning sow stalls and providing suitable behavioural conditions so these intelligent animals can exhibit normal behaviours. The time has come for APL to place it's great profit toward the welfare of the very animals it exploits. Until then I am all my friends will be doing our utmost urge everyone to boycott your industry.

Sincerely

Your name

APL Website www.australianpork.com.au

Also please write Minister for Agriculture -
The Hon. Richard Colbeck Contact Email:
senator.colbeck@aph.gov.au

and express your great concern regarding the terrible conditions pigs endure in Australian factory farms. Please ask Senator Colbeck to completely overhaul the pork industry including baning sow stalls and providing conditions for animals to exhibit their normal behaviours. Please let Senator Colbeck know you will be urging everyone to boycott Australian Pork Limited until conditions for these intelligent animals are drastically improved.

Also urge to do the same - Hon Peter McGauran MP Position in Australian Government:
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Title: Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Deputy Leader of the House.

Party: Nationals

Parliament House Contact

House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: (02) 6277 7520
Fax: (02) 6273 4120



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From Animal Liberation Queensland ALQ (Australia)
PIG CAMPAIGN

The national pig campaign is being pushed hard in every state and
here in Qld we have many idea's for this campaign including
organising stalls at various shopping centres to inform people about
where their pork products come from. We will have pictures of the conditions pigs live in, protest postcards to sign, letters to put in suggestion boxes of supermarkets and fact sheets on the life of an intensively farmed pig.

If you would like to be involved in this campaign or any other
please contact our volunteers co-ordinator Kaye on
alibqld@powerup.com.au

Also from ALQ (Australia) WIELD YOUR PENS FOR THE ANIMALS

Edward George Bulwer Lytton, an English novelist, once wrote, "The
pen is mightier than the sword."

Group members will be alerted to any animal issue in the news where
a published response could promote ALQ or our campaigns and then we
just ask that you get writing!

This new group would be for people who are available to respond
quickly to write a letter to the editor. This new group will be a
two way street, with ALQ sending out requests but if articles or
issues arise in other areas of Qld outside Brisbane we would like
you to contact us to ask to put it out over the group as the co-
ordinator of your writing group cannot know all the issues involving
animals that are happening over such a large state as Qld.

If you are interested in joining this group please email Annette at
the Animal Liberation Queensland office on alibqld@powerup.com.au
Please put in the subject heading, Attention: Annette - Writing
Group and include the email address where you would like to receive
the alerts and your city (in case of local interest story).





++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++


From Farm Animal Watch: Pig Welfare: Lawsuit to Ban Crates in California; Considering Natural Behaviors



LAWSUIT: Farm Sanctuary is challenging the use of pig gestation
crates using a California law that requires confined animals to have
enough room to exercise. The group is suing one of California's
largest farmed pig breeding companies, arguing that the use of small
gestation crates for pregnant and nursing sows violates the law.
According to a Farm Sanctuary spokesperson, "The crates are used
because the pigs can be fed at the front and hosed down at the back.
The animals are used like tools of production, like piglet producing
machines."

NATURAL BEHAVIOURS: Pig welfare is a concern in both individual and
group housing, according to Dr. Tina Widowski from the University of
Guelph (Canada). Group housing may lead to "production limiting
behavioral problems" such as "belly nosing or belly sucking," ear
biting, tail biting, and vulva biting among sows. Dr. Widowski says
these are the result of pigs not having any stimuli in the
confinement area, and she advises farmers to take into account pigs'
natural behaviors when dealing with problems perceived to be
aggression. According to the professor, "Think about what (a pig)
would be doing in that stage of its life in the natural setting and
think of how those natural tendencies are constrained or changed by
how we're managing pigs in production settings."



1. "Group Files Lawsuit for Alleged Animal Abuse," ABC Local NEWS,
11/27/05
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3676010

2. Press Release: "Groundbreaking Court Case Challenges Factory Farming Animal Confinement in California," Farm Sanctuary, 10/19/2005
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=55265

"Swine Producers Encouraged to Consider Natural Behavior when
Addressing Behavioral Problems in the Barn," Farmscape (Episode 1981) -by Bruce Cochrane, 11/29/05
http://tinyurl.com/9246x (farmscape.ca)


Farmed Animal Statistics: World Pig Slaughter and Consumption

The US Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) provides regular updates on the slaughter, consumption, and international trade of farmed animals and animal products. The most recent FAS report covers world markets and trade for farmed animals, including historic and forecasted "production" and consumption data. The full report (link below) includes a global overview and summaries of the slaughter and consumption of pigs, chickens, cows, and turkeys. Below we focus on statistics regarding the global slaughter and consumption of pigs, which China dominates with its large human population.

Pig Slaughter or "Production"

From FAS: "Accounting for 76% of the major producers' increase
forecast in 2006, China will drive pork production for those
countries 3% higher in 2006 to just over 95 million tons. China will continue to dominate as the world leader with nearly 51 million tons of pork production. Increases in pork production will occur in the European Union and Russia in 2006. Brazilian pork production will increase just over 3% to slightly more than 2.8 million tons in 2006 as the FMD-impacted region of Mato Grosso do Sul is not a major pork producing region."

Country (000s of Metric Tons) 2004 (actual) 2005 (projection) 2006
forecast)

People's Republic of China 47,016 48,900 50,900
European Union 20,851 20,720 20,900
United States 9,312 9,402 9,591
Brazil 2,600 2,730 2,825
Canada 1,936 1,960 1,975
Russian Federation 1,725 1,785 1,900
Japan 1,271 1,260 1,240
Mexico 1,150 1,175 1,200
Phillipines 1,145 1,100 1,122
South Korea 1,100 1,050 1,010
Taiwan 898 910 935
Others 1,674 1,545 1,569
TOTAL 90,678 92,537 95,167

Pig Consumption

From FAS: "Pork consumption in the major consuming countries is expected to grow about 3% in 2006 and again China accounts for the largest portion (76%) of forecasted growth. One of the few countries in which a decline in consumption is anticipated in 2006 is Japan. While the decline in Japanese pork consumption is minor, less than 2%, it demonstrates the market is readjusting. In 2004, mainly due to import bans on U.S. beef due to BSE and Asian poultry due to AI, Japan experienced unusually high levels of demand for pork. As Japan
adjusts to supply shocks to the beef and poultry sectors, pork consumption is forecast to return to more historic levels."
Country (000s of Metric Tons) 2004 (actual) 2005 (projection) 2006
(forecast)


People's Republic of China 46,725 48,570 50,535
European Union 19,459 19,310 19,470
United States 8,817 8,619 8,763
Russian Federation 2,337 2,434 2,574
Japan 2,561 2,531 2,485
Brazil 1,979 1,985 2,100
Mexico 1,556 1,615 1,640
South Korea 1,331 1,328 1,351
Phillipines 1,170 1,130 1,152
Canada 1,067 1,012 1,033
Taiwan 959 950 965
Others 2,276 2,121 2,139
TOTAL 90,237 91,605 94,207


"Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade," US Foreign
Agricultural Service, Nov-2005
PDF file (527k):
http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/circular/2005/05-
11LP/dlp05_11LP.pdf

"World Pork Trade Overview - November 2005," PigSite / FAS, 11/28/05
http://www.thepigsite.com/FeaturedArticle/Default.asp?Display=1511