Frustration over plan to extend farrowing crate rules for 10 years

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

The use of farrowing crates is a contentious issue which exposes the contradiction between New Zealanders’ desire for high animal welfare standards while buying imported pork products with lower welfare standards.

“We are becoming a culture and a country which doesn’t actually get where our bacon comes from,” former farmer Sarah Spencer told MPs considering extending the use of farrowing crate rules for another 10 years.

“People are pretty much buying things under plastic and not understanding it,” added Spencer, speaking to the Primary Production Select Committee on Wednesday.

There’s been close to a decade-long fight from animal welfare activists to end farrowing crate use in the New Zealand pork industry.

But five years after the High Court ruled that national pig welfare regulations were unlawful and in breach of the Animal Welfare Act, the Government is looking to give pork farmers another 10 years to transition to its proposed new farrowing crate rules, which opponents say aren’t much better than the old ones.

Under current rules sows can be kept for up to 33 days in metal farrowing crates to suckle piglets, with the pork industry saying it reduces piglet crushing deaths.

After the High Court ruled the current rules breached the Animal Welfare Act 1999, which was world-leading animal law recognising animal sentience and the right for animals to express their natural behaviour, the previous government set a five-year deadline to bring in new rules, which expires in December.

But its plans came to nothing after losing power, and the current Government is rushing through law change to drop farrowing crate use to a maximum of seven days from the current 33.

That’s not good enough for activists who want to see pork farming go free range.

The select committee heard support from farmers for more humane treatment of pigs, but one called on MPs to accompany improvements in pig welfare rules with an import ban on pork from countries with lower standards.

Dairy farmer Walt Cavendish said: “They [farmers] are competing against subsidised pork, lower welfare pork.

“In New Zealand we say we don’t want farrowing crates, we don’t want mating stalls, which is absolutely wonderful, and is in line with our animal welfare beliefs that came out in 1999.

“But while we hold our farmers to the highest standards on animal welfare… there is a financial cost to this,” he said.

Green MP Steve Abel, who has dubbed Minister for Animal Welfare Andrew Hoggard as “the Minister for Animal Cruelty”, has drafted a private member’s bill to ban imports of animal products from countries that do not meet New Zealand’s animal welfare standards.

ACT MP Mark Cameron chaired the meeting from his car.

Cavendish asked committee chair Mark Cameron to urge the Government to tie the two bills together to support the pork industry, which has been in decline in the face of cheaper, lower-welfare imported pork.

There are now fewer than 80 pig farms, with around 45 indoor piggeries, and just under half had stopped using farrowing crates at all, Parliament heard during the bill’s first reading on October 7.

Members of the public presenting by video to the committee attempted to drive home their feelings about farrowing crates.

Piggley Wiggly snuggles with Rob McNeil.

Vegan bacon fan Rob McNeil, from the Animal Justice Party, said he once had a potbelly pig as a flatmate.

“She was absolutely amazing. Smarter than my cat. No doubt. She would scratch herself against my electric guitar, and happily snuggle,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be doing justice, if I didn’t introduce you to Piggly Wiggly, and say that pigs are beautiful sentient creatures that deserve respect.”

Chris Cromey enclosed himself in a small area to demonstrate the cruelty of enclosing animals in crates.

McNeil reminded MPs of a 100,000 signature petition in 2018 calling for farrowing crates to be banned.

“New Zealand’s got a lot of land, so why can’t pigs live in a paddock like cows” asked Auckland resident Louise Vermelen. “Why can’t they feel the sun on their pink round little bodies, roll on the grass and run in the mud.”

Chris Cromey, presenting from a shelter for his sheep, enclosed himself in a small area to demonstrate the cruelty of enclosing animals in crates.

Sarah Lindsay quoted Mahatma Gandhi saying: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

The extension of current farrowing crate rules for another 10 years undermined the rule of law, she said, supporting Abel’s proposal for an import ban.

“The ensuing price rises … would have made evident the real cost of eating pork,” she said.

Cavendish said a 10-year transition was too long for the new rules.

When the poultry industry was given that long to phase out cages, many egg producers left it to the last minute, he said.

“There was a heck of a rush, and a shortage of eggs,” he said.

At the first reading, Labour’s Rachel Boyack said the last government was planning on either banning farrowing crates, or restricting their use to 72 hours, not seven days.

And she said: “The minister’s proposals, funnily enough, match the proposals from NZ Pork.”

At the first reading, Green MP Abel warned pig farmers: “Do you think, honestly, that this bill is going to hold the line for 10 years when there's a change of Government?”

*CORRECTION: This story has been amended as the earlier story incorrectly said the Government planned to increase the size of farrowing crates. (Amended Wednesday October 29, 2025. 8.00pm)