(CN - HK) Call for inquiry into 'brutal' killing of pigs

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZRNXSPV0F.html

Thursday, April 26, 2007

by BARCLAY CRAWFORD

 

Animal rights activists and lawmakers have called for an

investigation into why an estimated 2,000 pigs were slaughtered by

shotgun while others looked on screaming.

 

Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan told a Legislative Council meeting yesterday

that in one instance about 300 pigs were " crying in distress " as

officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

picked out the animals individually and shot them.

 

Mr Lee said shooting the pigs in this manner could have been a breach

of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance.

 

Officers used shotguns to slaughter the 300kg " breeder " pigs as part

of the voluntary surrender scheme covering pig farm licences. This is

part of a government plan to close down the industry in Hong Kong due

to pollution and disease concerns.

 

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, York Chow Yat-ngok said

killing pigs by shotgun was the only option. They were hard to

control by injections, as their blood vessels were three to five

inches (8-13cm) below the skin. The boars were also particularly

aggressive.

 

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) cruelty

guidelines say the animals must only be killed one at a time to stop

them becoming distressed.

 

Dr Chow said the target for the shot was between the ears and the

eyes.

 

" The bullet causes instant damage to the brain tissues of the pig,

rendering the pig unconscious and dead immediately, thus sparing it

unnecessary suffering, " he said.

 

The UNFAO had not only endorsed the appropriate use of shotguns for

slaughtering large animals but had also issued detailed guidelines

for the practice.

 

According to the UNFAO guidelines, the use of firearms in

slaughtering pigs was legally recognised in the European Union,

Australia, and the United States, he said.

 

Dr Chow said there were no plans for an investigation into

allegations that at least 2,000 of the animals were killed in breach

of UN guidelines, because the pigs were killed in an appropriate

manner.

 

But lawmakers and animal rights activists have called for a full

inquiry.

 

Carmen Chan Wai-man, an executive officer of Happy Animals which

staged a protest outside the Legislative Council building yesterday,

said the treatment was unacceptable and the officers responsible

should be prosecuted.

 

" The government didn't provide the actual figure for the pigs killed

brutally but we estimate the number is close to 2,000, " she said.

 

" They have broken the law and there must be an investigation by an

independent body into how this was allowed to happen. "

 

The government expects farmers taking part in the voluntary surrender

scheme to kill their breeder pigs by March next year.

 

Slaughterhouses have assisted pig farmers in killing 11,700 breeder

pigs, about 85 per cent of the total under the scheme.

 

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation department records show there

are still 15,000 breeder pigs on local farms.