Ashley Fruno’s letter exposes the terrible cruelty of the caged-hen industry, an industry that has continued to flourish under the watch of the Primary Industries Ministerial Council.
This body, comprised of the Federal and State Primary Industries Ministers, is responsible for legislation regarding the welfare of animals that are raised for food. It seems to give priority to the commercial interests of various producers ahead of its ethical obligations to the animals concerned. The recent disaster of the live export trade is an obvious illustration of this attitude.
There are other examples of this lack of duty of care. For instance we have what is now a well known law requiring all animals in this country to be stunned before slaughter, but an exception is made in the case of ritual slaughter (halal and kosher protocols). This is based on the freedom of people, of various faiths, to express their religious beliefs which is quite proper, but in my opinion not in this case, as it results in archaic religious food taboos taking precedence over avoiding terror and pain in the slaughter process. In my mind this is grossly unethical and reflects, along with the other examples, the servility of the politicians on the PIMC when confronted by groups with vested or other interests.
Peter Gerard,
Guyra
