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More on our open letter to Tammi Jonas of Jonai Farms

25/6/2013

1 Comment

 
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We recently published an open letter to Tammi Jonas of Jonai Farms regarding the exercise she is conducting with ABC Radio National's Bush Telegraph program, involving a piglet named Wilbur.

Here's Tammi's response to that letter, which she posted on our Facebook page on 6 June, 2013:
Hi Karina and Paul - Thanks for the 'open letter' (though I stumbled upon it by accident - perhaps you could have pinged me at least?), and for addressing me (and presumably my husband Stuart and children who are partners in our farm) respectfully. I'm happy to discuss our farming practices with you or anyone, hence our involvement in the RN Bush Tele series. I'll be brief here though as I already invite this engagement across two blogs and now the ABC sites.

My point about asking omnivores, not vegans, was that we wanted to discuss farm animal management, which is difficult to do with a group whose stock position is 'don't farm animals'. Of course you and anyone has a right to comment, just as we have a right to ignore you if we choose. You'll note we have not chosen to ignore even the abolitionists, though as time goes on, I can't promise I will remain willing to respond or engage with that particular group of people when they attack us.

On anaesthesia - it's not true that we hadn't considered it before the Fb poll, nor that the vote and discussion there are the only reason we're using it now. This was part of a long conversation here on the farm, one that farmers have all the time, and for us, one that always encompasses the well being of our animals (who, yes, are commodities, but also living creatures whose lives we want to be as good and 'natural' as possible while they live - unlike you, we don't think it's contradictory to believe it's okay to eat animals but still want them to live a life without fear or pain insofar as possible and within our control). We will continue to revisit this discussion and practice, and I'll keep the public updated on our farm blog. Regarding anaesthesia for ear notching - we have no intention of using pain relief for this very minor physical intervention. It's the equivalent of piercing your ears.

On abattoirs, I am well on the record with concerns about the treatment of animals at some abattoirs, and approached that part of our decision to farm free-range pigs with trepidation. What I can say about our abattoir (Diamond Valley), is that we are very happy with their practices as we have observed them. The Animal Liberation quote you provided in no way represents the experience of our animals, and I will be writing a detailed account of our abattoir's practices (eg they don't stun, the pigs are lowered into a carbon dioxide chamber and are rendered immediately unconscious). Obviously, I cannot speak for other abattoirs, but I'm aware of many in Australia using the CO2 method now. I could not in good conscience call myself a transparent, ethical farmer if I didn't believe the slaughtering process was as quick and relatively stress-free as it is.

I'm not entirely sure what your objective was in writing the 'open letter', but I hope I've answered some of your questions, such that they were. If your objective is for us to stop farming in what we firmly believe is an ethical manner, I'd recommend that you not waste your time. Like you, we don't believe that intensive farming is ethical. But perhaps unlike you, we think that the work of people like us is critical to improving the lot of pigs and poultry in Australia and elsewhere.

We want people to have all the information to make ethical choices - whether for them that means they'll be vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore.

Sincerely,

Tammi and the Jonai [Team]
Here's our response of 13 June, 2013:

Hi Tammi,

Thanks for your comments. We provide some further comments below.

Our objective:

We're aiming to create some balance by providing a voice for animals in addition to the voice of those who breed them for food.

Anaesthesia for castration:

You said "it's not true that we hadn't considered it before the FB poll, nor that the vote and discussion there are the only reason we're using it now."

Your comments imply that we indicated you had not considered using anaesthesia for castration before the FB poll. That’s not so. We simply said that you had not used it, which we understand is an accurate comment.

You said in the interview with Cameron Wilson that you would not use it on Wilbur if he were to be castrated.

Subsequent to that interview, you said on FB:

"Thanks for the comments, everyone - we're investigating Tri-Solfen, which was developed for mulesing sheep, actually. A topical anaesthetic would be our preference. Note that we've only castrated one litter so far - this will be our next batch, and we'll see about sourcing Tri-Solfen or similar from our vet."

And:

"Again, thanks to those who have engaged respectfully on this important issue with significant animal welfare as well as management implications. We've certainly taken the feedback regarding anaesthetic seriously and are talking to our vet about our options, including Tri-Solfen. If Wilbur 101 and his brothers are castrated, it will be with anaesthetic."

Anaesthesia for ear notching:

You have said, "we have no intention of using pain relief for this very minor physical intervention. It's the equivalent of piercing your ears".

We assume that your piglets are less than a week old when their ears are notched.

We note that the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Pigs (2007), states: “Ear notching should be avoided where possible. Where ear notching is performed, it should be carried out before the piglets are 7 days of age”

We also note that the Humane Society of the United States has released a report titled "An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Piglets in the Pig Industry". Here’s an extract:

"There has been very little research assessing the painfulness of ear notching, but two studies report behavioral differences between piglets who were ear notched and piglets who were similarly held and restrained, but did not undergo the actual ear-notching procedure. The piglets who were ear notched displayed more grunting vocalizations, head shaking, squeals, and escape attempts." [References provided.]

Abattoirs:

You have said, "the pigs are lowered into a carbon dioxide chamber and are rendered immediately unconscious".

We understand that the reaction of pigs in carbon dioxide chambers is very breed-specific, so we assume from your comments that rare breed Large Black pigs react more favourably than some. However, we are concerned that other factors may also play a part.

This is how the process has been described by Anita Krajnc, co-founder of our sister organisation, Toronto Pig Save, based on information from former abattoir workers in Canada:

"The carbon dioxide chamber takes about two or three pigs at a time, and then they're lowered into the basement because carbon dioxide is heavier than air, and so they're stunned there, and it takes about 20 to 30 seconds and is excruciatingly painful, and they're trying to escape and they're jumping on each other, and then by the time the elevator comes back up, they're stunned, they're not dead they're stunned, then they're shackled and hung upside down on one leg, and then they're bled with a big hollow knife stuck in their throat as they're upside down, and as their heart is then pumping out the blood, and then they're thrown into a scalding tank, that's boiling water in order to loosen their hair. What happens with these carbon dioxide gas chambers is it works differently for different pigs, depending on how healthy they are, depending on whether they took a big breath before they went into the gas chamber, so some of them will wake up sooner, will be alive while they're being bled and also in some cases when thrown into the scalding tank. These kind of atrocities happen every day in slaughterhouses."

Ethical Farming:

You have said, "Like you, we don't believe that intensive farming is ethical."

We believe that all animal farming is a form of exploitation, and therefore unethical.

Kind Regards,

Karina Leung and Paul Mahony, Melbourne Pig Save

Postscript:

The following comments were added by veterinary student Julian Forbes on 14 June, 2013:

Can I also add something about carbon dioxide stunning: when animals die of suffocation, it is actually the elevated CO2 levels in their bodies that cause the sense of suffering and panic. This is mediated by central chemoreceptors in the brain (and to a lesser extent, carotid and aortic bodies). This explains the levels of suffering noted by Anita Krajnc. Here is an independent study of the effectiveness of different stunning methods, including CO2, which is described as inducing "severe respiratory distress prior to loss of consciousness". It is very clear that there can never be a guarantee of "humane slaughter".
Image: Large Black sow feeding on grass | © whitemay | iStockphoto
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Open letter on free range pig farming

21/6/2013

1 Comment

 
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Two rare breed Large Black pigs, like those at Jonai Farms

This is an open letter to Tammi Jonas of Jonai Farms in relation to a project recently launched by ABC Radio National's Bush Telegraph program.

The letter was prepared by Paul Mahony on behalf of Melbourne Pig Save and signed by himself and MPS co-founder Karina Leung. It first appeared: on the Facebook pages of Melbourne Pig Save and the ABC's Bush Telegraph program; in the comments section of the article "Why we will be castrating Wilbur 101" (refer below); and in Paul Mahony's Terrastendo blogging site.

The program's web page introduced the exercise this way:

RN's chronicler of all things rural - Bush Telegraph - is staging a bold experiment, raising a pig to start a debate about free range farming and animal welfare. Over the coming months you can decide how to rear Wilbur 101 by voting in our Facebook polls

Here are links that provide some additional background:

- Should we castrate this pig?, Bush Telegraph, 16 May, 2013

- Wilbur's Woe's, Paul Mahony, 21 May, 2013

- Why we will be castrating Wilbur 101, Tammi Jonas, 22 May, 2013

- Farmers choose to castrate Wilbur 101, Bush Telegraph, 23 May, 2013

- Bush Telegraph Facebook page

- Bush Telegraph Facebook voting page

- Humane Choice "True Free Range" Standards - Pigs - 2011 - Version 1.1 (Refer to Section 15.2, page 12)

OPEN LETTER TO TAMMI JONAS OF JONAI FARMS
129 Morgantis Rd, Eganstown, Victoria, 3461
4th June, 2013

Dear Tammi,

We've been following your "bold experiment, raising a pig to start a debate about free range farming and animal welfare".

In the article dealing with your decision to castrate Wilbur, you said that you had asked omnivores to vote, not vegans. However, we could not see where the voting was intended to be limited in that way. We are vegans, and feel that we have a right to respond to a question asked by our national broadcaster, the ABC.

You have mentioned that you've been farming free-range rare breed Large Black pigs for a year and a half. You have also indicated that you had not previously used anaesthetic when castrating piglets, and initially did not intend using it for Wilbur. We note that you subsequently decided to use it for him as a result of feedback on Facebook.

We are concerned that it took the Facebook discussion for you to eventually decide on that approach, particularly when the Humane Choice "true free range" standards for pigs stipulate that anaesthetic should be used. However, the discussions on this topic in Facebook and on the Bush Telegraph forum have highlighted the lack of uniform, legally enforceable standards for free range farming.

Even the Humane Choice standards appear to allow ear notching without anaesthetic, provided it is "shown to be necessary". The standards refer to the practice as "surgery", rather than "mutilation", which is not permitted.

Whether it is "surgery" or "mutilation", we would like to think that anaesthetic would be used.

We understand from your radio interview with Cameron Wilson that ear notching occurs at Jonai Farms.

If you had intended from the beginning to use anaesthetic for Wilbur's castration, the outcome of voting may have been different to that which eventuated.

Although vegans generally seek to avoid all forms of animal exploitation, when dealing with a situation where an animal is to be exploited regardless of their actions, they will almost invariably aim for the approach that involves the least suffering. If they could have been convinced that the castration option represented such an approach, then they may have supported it. Many voters may have been unaware that you changed your position on the use of anaesthetic, or may have voted before you did so.

Despite being treated better than pigs in factory farms, Wilbur is clearly a commodity who was brought into the world to be killed and eaten. His full name, "Wilbur 101", appears to be consistent with that understanding when one considers the fact that all male pigs on your farm are named Wilbur. Each of the pig's name is distinguished from the others' names by a number, so each "name" is effectively just a number.

You've suggested that your pigs have only "one bad day". But what a bad day it is! Here's how Patty Mark of Animal Liberation Victoria described her experience of seeing a free range pig awaiting slaughter:

"The most prolonged suffering I’ve ever had to witness was in New South Wales when a free-range pig was approaching the stunner. She was hysterical, frothing at the mouth. Her chest heaved and caved as she struggled valiantly and continuously to escape. I ached to yell out, 'Stop, enough!' and hold her in my arms, soothe her, give her a drink of cool water, then take her to a safe place. Smoke rose from her temples as the man held the electric stunner firmly, longer than normal, to both sides of her head."

Apart from the terror experienced by that poor pig, any day when your life is taken from you in order to satisfy the unnecessary culinary habits of humans would represent an unjust and horrific experience.

Besides, we believe the day of castration or ear notching (or other relevant procedures) without anaesthetic would have been another "bad day" for your piglets.

You have said: "Unfortunately, while the omnivorous public might have wanted to discuss the practicalities and ethics of castrating boars, a significant number of those opposed to eating meat joined the discussion and turned it into a rant against us, farmers generally, and meat eaters specifically. We were called 'sick freaks', 'Neanderthals', and 'animal abusers', to name some of the milder insults."

Please note that we have not used terminology of that type in any comments. We simply aim to inform people of the facts behind their animal consumption, to assist them in purchasing in an informed manner.

We would be pleased to discuss these issues with you at any time that was convenient.

Kind Regards,

Karina Leung and Paul Mahony
Melbourne Pig Save

Image: Two Black Pigs © Nigel Baker | Dreamstime.com

1 Comment

    Paul Mahony

    MPS Co-founder

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