THE NFU for England and Wales has expressed growing concern over a recent spate of break-ins on poultry units. Activists have gained access to chicken sheds at night to take pictures or videos of birds in dim lighting, before releasing the footage some time later. Often the farmers do not know the break-in has happened until the media gets in touch with them.
One farmer reported people dismantling ventilation systems to gain access to chicken sheds. Fencing had been cut and mesh fixed across ventilation ducts kicked in. They had spotted the intruders when they looked back on CCTV footage, but had no reason to check it at the time.
Animal rights activists take photographs and films out of context to create the impression of cruel conditions. "A picture speaks a thousand words, whatever your vet says," one farmer explained.
Apart from the damage done to the sheds and equipment, strange noises and torch lights frighten birds into huddling on top of each other and smothering or injuring themselves. There are also concerns about biosecurity in the wake of the avian influenza outbreak, with the likelihood of activists targeting more than one unit increasing the chances of infection spreading.
Last year, the National Pig Association (NPA) spent a third of its time dealing with the aftermath of animal rights activists breaking into members' farms south of the border.
NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: "The activists come around looking for injured animals that haven't been separated and they are not finding them, so they are going after farming practice. They are breaking in at night and finding sows giving birth in farrowing crates, and there is a bit of afterbirth and perhaps a dead piglet. To them this is gold dust, but we can look at that and say "this is farming". Sows often farrow at night because it is a safe time, or it is supposed to be."
One of the main criticisms of activists is that they claim to be acting in the welfare of the animals, but often make no attempt to report suspected welfare issues to the authorities in a meaningful timeframe. It can be months before they release their images - far too late to have any impact on the practices they claim to have uncovered.
Fortunately we don't have this problem in Scotland. That's not to say the Scottish public are any less concerned about animal welfare - rather that they take a more responsible approach.
The problem with the public's perception of animal welfare and cruelty is that while it is well-intentioned, it is often ill-informed.
A good example is the out-wintering of cattle, where they are kept in fields that can trample to mud in wet weather, particularly in the area where they are fed. That often prompts calls to the Scottish SPCA complaining about "neglected" cattle that on further examination turn out to be well-fed and well-cared for.
According to figures from the Scottish SPCA they received 3,432 calls from the public in 2016 about concerns over cruelty to farm animals that resulted in just one case of cattle neglect being taken to court, while in 2015 3,033 calls resulted in a court case concerning cattle neglect and another of cattle and sheep neglect.
The reality is that Scottish farmers, like their counterparts south of the border, care for their animals as best they can. To reassure consumers that animals have been kept in high welfare conditions, the farming industry run voluntary farm assurance schemes that set minimum standards of welfare. To ensure those standards are adhered to, such schemes employ inspectors to go round farms checking on the animals and the conditions they are kept in, as well as farm records such as the medicines book which records details of purchases, usage and retention periods.
One such assurance scheme is Specially Selected Pork that is run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the red meat industry promotional body, and approved by the Scottish SPCA, who independently inspect the farms and processors. It has close on 100 per cent of all commercial Scottish pig producers signed up.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said: "Consumers purchasing Specially Selected Pork labelled as approved by the Scottish SPCA can be confident the product has been sourced from farms where the health and welfare of pigs is a top priority.
"The integrity of the scheme is founded on the fact we receive no income, either directly or through any subsidiary, from inspections. As a result, consumers can have complete confidence in the impartiality and independence of the inspection process."
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