A report prepared for MAF that shows that New Zealand broiler chickens have better health than those in a number of European countries actually proves that broiler chickens in this country suffer terribly. The report shows that over three million baby chickens die each year before they reach the age of seven weeks. It also exposes the fact that 91.9 percent of New Zealand's broiler chickens cannot walk normally. "This means that over 73 million chicks have difficulty walking and may well experience pain", says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek. "While the Poultry Industry is quick to boast about the comparative better health of New Zealand birds, it has conveniently ignored the considerable suffering of the New Zealand flock." Broiler chickens are crammed inside large sheds at 20 birds per square metre. They suffer from various degrees of leg weakness, skin abrasion and dermatitis and can not express their normal behaviour. They spend their short lives standing in their own faeces and will never see experience daylight or anything that resembles a normal life. All broilers are routinely fed antibiotics for their entire lives. This prevents widespread outbreak of disease that otherwise would be unavoidable in these overcrowded conditions. Antibiotics also promote growth and exacerbate the already unnatural fast growth of the animals. "Whilst this industry controlled report seeks to gloss over the suffering of New Zealand broiler chickens by indicating that conditions are worse in other countries, it actually proves what animal activists have been saying for years; that broiler chickens here suffer appallingly," say Hans.
24 September 2006
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