The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia)
Written by Peter Morley

A GROWING animal rights movement could eventually force farmers out of business unless they change their production processes, a key advocate has warned.

Large supermarket chains in the US had already responded to consumer protection and refused to stock eggs from battery hens as well as intensively farmed pork.

Animal protection advocate Brian Sherman, founder of the Voiceless lobby group, will tell the Queensland Press Club today that recent studies show Australian consumers are increasingly making shopping decisions based on the way in which their food is produced.

More than half of all consumers now rate the welfare of animals as an important factor in what they buy, according to the Meat and Livestock Australia study. In 1994, just 29 per cent said it was important  to them.
A separate 2001 survey by Monash University found that Queensland consumers ranked the humane treatment of animals ahead of price when buying meat.

"The coming consumer revolution will determine whether many Queensland farmers remain in business in the years ahead," Mr Sherman will say in today's Brisbane address.

"Whether you are one of the 98 per cent of farms that are family owned, or part of the 2 per cent that are corporate owned, your market and buyers are changing fundamentally."

Animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have also attracted a mass following. In a recent global campaign, PETA forced the Australian wool industry to announce it would phase out the practice of mulesing by 2010.

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