The Land - Upfront News
Written by Michael Thomson

The latest animal rights group to launch a campaign against Aust­ralian agriculture has been branded as more dangerous than People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Using movie star Hugo Weaving to draw media attention, Voiceless hit the headlines earlier this week when it launched a campaign urging con­sumers to boycott the traditional Christmas ham in protest against intensive pork production.

But the group's softer approach of promoting free range production -as distinct from the violent protest of groups like PETA - has Federal Agriculture Minister, Peter Mc­Gauran, worried.

"Voiceless could be a more threat­ening adversary for the farming sec­tor than discredited extremists such as PETA," Mr McGauran said.

"They appear rational and are tar­geting school children, as well as attempting to influence the public with high profile celebrities."

The Sydney-based group released a report on Monday titled From Paddocks to Prisons, attacking the pork industry's use of intensive shed production, sow stalls, tusk clipping and tail docking.

"The lives of Australian pigs are akin to those of battery-farmed chickens, yet most consumers have no idea pigs suffer most of their lives in steel cages so small they cannot turn around," Voiceless Director, Brian Sherman, said.

But Australian Pork Ltd spokes­man, John Lamont, said the prac­tices in question were in place specifically for the health and wel­fare of the animals.

"If converting the entire Australian commercial pig herd to free-range production and having them wan­der around in paddocks was viable from an animal welfare, bio-security or environmental perspective, farm­ers would have done it long ago - it certainly would be a lot cheaper," Mr Lamont said.

He said only three to five per cent of Australia's land mass was suitable for free-range production due to environmental precautions.

Mr Lamont also attacked Voiceless for accepting money from a compa­ny, Morinda Pty Ltd, which pro­duces sheds, including piggeries.

Voiceless's Ondine Sherman reject­ed the claim saying the sheds the company offered for sale were unsuitable for intensive pig produc­tion and only suited to small-scale free-range methods.

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