2015 Summer Update

WORKING
TOGETHER

to make New Zealand

SAFE for animals

The End of Sow Stalls

3rd December 2015 will be a date for the history books. On that day,
cruel sow stalls - used to house pregnant pigs - will be banned forever.

The sow stall ban is the single

biggest victory the New Zealand
animal rights movement has achieved
to date, and it came after a long,
hard-fought campaign.
The highlight was a hard-hitting 2009
expos on current affairs show Sunday
featuring undercover footage of sows
suffering in their stalls.
This explosive story created a huge
public outcry and led to dozens more
media stories further exposing the
suffering of factory-farmed pigs.
Never before in this country was an
animal-based industry so maligned
for its treatment of animals.
The public response pressurised the
government into announcing a five-year
phase-out of sow stalls.

The success of this campaign proved

the value of undercover filming of
animal cruelty.
Harrowing images have the power
to spur on public demand for action
and get results for animals.
Since the phase-out was announced
in 2010, pig farmers have steadily
been reducing the use of sow stalls.
SAFE, however, will keep a watchful
eye on the industry and expose any
farmers who flaunt the law by still
using sow stalls after 3rd December.
The sow stall ban gives us confidence
that with hard work and your support,
we can continue to make a real
difference for animals.

Ban Rodeo Cruelty

SAFE has joined forces with SPCA and Farmwatch
to call for a total ban on rodeo.

In rodeo events, animals are routinely

grabbed, chased, wrestled and roped
in aggressive displays and can sustain
painful injuries such as fractures
and bruising, as well as suffering
severe stress and fear. Horses and bulls
are forced to buck, and young calves
are roped and thrown to the ground.
The Animal Welfare Act requires
that animals are not subjected to
unreasonable or unnecessary pain or
distress. Causing animals to suffer
for entertainment is both unreasonable
and unnecessary.
Rodeo is a total contradiction of the
requirements of the Act and it is only
logical and right that it comes to an end.
Condemned by vets, welfare experts
and animal protection organisations
worldwide, rodeo is partially banned

in Britain, other parts of Europe

and areas of the United States and
Australia. In New Zealand, rodeo is
banned from Auckland Council land
and SAFE says it is time the rest of
New Zealand followed suit.
With this years rodeo calendar just
getting under way, there is no better
time to add your name to those
of the 30,000 compassionate
New Zealanders that have already
signed a petition calling for a
permanent end to rodeo cruelty.

Visit safe.org.nz to sign the petition.

If you have no access to the internet,
contact Abi on: 09 361 5646 and
a paper copy will be posted to you.

Thanks to you, Air NZ

Ditches Rodeo!
Just weeks after the announcement
of the new anti-rodeo coalition,
Air New Zealand launched their new
Where to next? advertisement featuring
scenes from rodeo events.
SAFE worked with Farmwatch to produce
a video and wrote to Air New Zealand to
make them aware of the significant cruelty
to animals that rodeo involves and asked
them not to associate New Zealands
national airline with animal abuse, while
many of you voiced your opposition by
posting on Air New Zealands Facebook
page. Five days later, Air New Zealand
listened to concerns and removed all
videos containing the rodeo clip.
Thank you to all of you that took action!

Update:

Live Export Scandal

As our previous issue was going to press,

we were notified that the largest cargo
of animals ever to leave New Zealand
was about to depart from Timaru.
The SAFE Christchurch team drove
straight to the port, but were refused
access to the ship. However, they
were successful in bringing the plight
of these unfortunate, terrified animals
to the attention of the New Zealand
public, in spite of the efforts of the
industry to keep it quiet.
Very sadly, we now know that 444
animals died before the shipment
reached Mexico 252 on feedlots before
they even boarded the ship. The fate of
the sheep and cattle that did make it is
impossible to track, and the New Zealand
government has no way of knowing
how many more died during the ensuing

1,000km truck rides in 30-degree

heat, or of being certain that the
animals will not be slaughtered in
conditions that would be illegal in
this country.
In a separate live export scandal
in July, it was revealed that the
government made a secret deal that
involved flying pregnant sheep to a
farm in Saudi Arabia. The disastrous
consequences of this are also now
known: 75% of the resulting lambs
died from starvation, diarrhea and
animal husbandry problems.
While live export for slaughter has
been banned in New Zealand since
2003, export for breeding purposes
has continued. Following these recent
tragedies, SAFE is calling for a ban
on all live exports.

Write to Minister of Primary Industries Nathan Guy at: Parliament Office, Private Bag,
18888, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160 to demand an end to live export.

World Veg Month

For the animals, for your health,
for the planet
As part of World Veg Month, over 700
people took SAFEs 30-day Go Veg
challenge to help stop animal suffering
one meal at a time. On average, one person Going Veg for 30 days saves eight
animals, meaning that more than 5,600
animals were saved overall!
But there is more: eating a plant-based
diet lowers blood pressure and
reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease,
diabetes and osteoporosis, and, as
raising animals for food is one of the
largest contributors to environmental
degradation, Going Veg helps to save
the planet too!
Keen to take the challenge but missed
out on World Veg month? You can still
benefit from free recipes, advice on
nutrition and tips for eating out, as well
as access to a group for swapping ideas
to help keep you motivated.
Visit goveg.org.nz to sign up!

Young Animal Activists

In the past year, SAFE has been piloting
a youth group for children aged 8-14.
This growing group of animal enthusiasts is
constantly looking for ideas for how they can
make a difference for animals. In response,
SAFE has produced an Animal Activist Handbook
chock-full of suggestions. Already some
young activists have taken these tips on board,
collecting signatures for the rodeo petition,
fundraising at their school and making
speeches on animal issues.
Joshuas school was planning to eat at
McDonalds on the way home from a camping
trip. Joshua explained that he did not want to eat
therebecause of his compassion for animals
but was told he would have to, or go hungry.
Joshua chose to go hungry. He wrote to his
school principal about it and she fully supported
his stand and was impressed with his kindness
towards animals. She promised to talk to the
teacher in charge of the trip and asked Joshua
if he would like to write a regular item on animal
issues in the school newsletter.
Joshua (age 9) managed to stand
up for himself and animals!

To find out more about the SAFE Youth group and download
a copy of the Animal Activist Handbook, visit safe.org.nz.

Volunteer for Animals

SAFE Volunteers are amazing...
Often juggling hectic lives; they still find
time to represent animals at events, markets,
expos and all kinds of busy public places.
Raising awareness of issues people prefer
not to think about is a vital part of a
volunteers role. Once people know the facts,
they have the power to change, and every
little change makes a difference for animals.
While the issues themselves are often
depressing, it is not all doom and gloom!
There are many positive and fun ways to
get the message across - from giving away
veg food samples for World Veg Month to
collecting signatures for the anti-rodeo
petition and dressing up as sheep to
encourage people to support a ban on live
export. Volunteers also attend training
sessions, meetings and social events.
We can never have too many volunteers to
stand up for animals, so why not join us?
Penny Wilson & Sophia Tinirau at the
Christchurch Vegetarian Expo in September.

Contact laura@safe.org.nz or call 03 379 9711 for

more information about volunteering in your area.

New SAFEshopper Update

SAFE is pleased to announce the
latest update to our cruelty-free list!
Welcome aboard to new companies: Artemis,
Australis, BROWNALLYEAR, In Essence, Innoxa,
Lust, Mode, MuLondon, NapoBIO, Orania Skin Care,
Tease Botanix and WashBar who have just been
added to the web guide and phone app.
All companies appearing in the guide do not conduct
animal testing of any cosmetic or household product
or ingredients. Nor do they sell their products to
countries requiring it by law.
Visit SAFEshopper.org.nz or search the
App Store for SAFEshopper Cruelty Free NZ.

We would like to say a special thank you to our

latest Silver SAFE Business Supporters - and
SAFEshopper-listed companies - Ethique and Blue
Earth. SAFE Business Supporters is a partnership
scheme that allows the business community to
support our work on behalf of animals.
If you would like more information, please
contact Amanda on: amanda@safe.org.nz
or 09 361 5646.

Colony Cage Con

SAFE wants to stop colony cages before
they become established.
As you may be aware, while battery cages for
hens are to be phased out by 2022, they are
simply being replaced by another cruel cage
system called colony cages.
Hens in colony cages have a living space not
much larger than an A4 sheet of paper.
They cannot express their natural behaviours
such as wing-flapping, proper nesting and
dust bathing and often suffer from feather
loss, sore feet and brittle bones.
Despite the fact that a recent survey showed
that 9/10 New Zealanders oppose battery
cages, three million hens are suffering in them
right now and millions of their eggs are sold
by supermarkets each year.

What you can do:

Dont buy eggs labelled battery eggs,

cage eggs, colony laid or colony eggs.

Ask your local supermarket to listen to their

customers and phase out all cage eggs.

On behalf of all animals

in New Zealand: Thank you!
Your support is vital to all the successes achieved for animals so far, and
for all the ones we know are to come. Whether through sending emails,
writing letters, signing petitions, collecting funds, lobbying MPs, donating
to a campaign or adopting a veg diet, as the huge success that is the
sow stall ban clearly demonstrates: change only happens because
of caring, compassionate New Zealanders like you. Thank you!

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