Farm animal law under the spotlight

6 September 2011 Have your say

When it comes to the law, some animals are more 'equal' than others.

Animals Australia's live export investigations have sparked renewed interest in animal welfare around the country. Animal law is a growing field within the legal world and many legal experts are calling for better legislation to protect animals, particularly farm animals that today are still routinely subjected to legalised cruelties as standard farming practices. Recently Landline on ABC had a closer look at the legal protection of farm animals in Australia and the developments in the animal law movement.

Despite all Australian states and territories having laws designed to prevent cruelty to animals, farm animals — making up the vast majority of animals kept in human care in Australia — are denied the most basic protections for their wellbeing by way of exemptions in these laws.

Where animal protection legislation makes it an offense to perform painful procedures on animals like dogs and cats, a range of mutilations can be inflicted on pigs, chickens, cows and sheep that are raised for food and fabric production — without providing any form of pain relief. Piglets for example may have their tails sliced off (through bone) and teeth cut and day old chicks in the egg industry regularly have parts of their sensitive beaks cut off.

On factory farms, animals may be kept in 'living' conditions that severely impacts on their wellbeing, with stocking densities so high and space allowance so low that they can barely move. The majority of laying hens in Australia are still kept in battery cages where they have less space than the size of an A4 sheet of paper; though not confined to cages, 'meat chickens' typically have no more space; and mother pigs are still commonly kept in sow crates little bigger than their own bodies.

But as more people become aware of these cruel practices through public awareness initiatives such as Animals Australia's recent television, bus and billboard campaigns, changing consumer attitudes are forcing retailers to think twice about the products they stock. Coles for example has announced a phase out cage eggs from their home brand by 2013 and is the first major retailer to adopt a sow-stall-free target of 2014, playing a major part in the Australian pig industry's decision to voluntarily phase out sow stalls by 2017.

While these developments will ultimately mean a kinder life for millions of animals, the sad reality is that most egg, chicken, bacon, ham and pork products are still products of factory farms. You can make a big impact in the lives of animals today by becoming a compassionate shopper, and joining our calls on Government to demand legal protection for all animals.

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