Shadow Agriculture Minister Emma Kealy and State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland told a gathering of the Seymour Agricultural and Pastoral Society on Wednesday, July 24, that recent inquiries into animal welfare were ‘stacked’ against farmers.
An inquiry into pig welfare in Victoria tabled its report in June, giving the government until December 20 to respond.
The report made 18 recommendations for the pig industry, most of which addressed animal welfare.
The committee recommended the outlawing of sow stalls, boar crates and mating stalls, and called for the mandatory installation of CCTV cameras.
The inquiry was conducted by the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee and comprised one Nationals MP among its 19 members.
Ms Kealy said the National Party was committed to opposing government moves which she said could jeopardise the protection of farmers as ‘third parties’ to animal welfare crime.
“There will be clear lines and boundaries with animal welfare so those who do the wrong thing shall be penalised appropriately,” Ms Kealy said.
“That can then translate into how we grow stock.
“We need to have legal protection for third parties from actions brought about by vegans who don’t want to eat meat anyway, but who can lodge a civil case and take a private business to court.
“This is something which could see a farmer behind bars or gives them the choice of a saying ‘I don’t want to do this any more’.
“This is not only very stressful for primary producers to deal with, but will require putting your hand in your pocket to get a lawyer.”
In a statement released on June 20, Ms Kealy said the pig inquiry report had been motivated by left ideology with pork producers at hearings being ambushed with ‘obscure’ lines of questioning.
“It is extremely concerning and disappointing that Labor MPs have backed extreme restrictions on ... pig farmers with no scientific evidence to back it up,” she said.
“The Liberals and Nationals minority report’s recommendations are based on science and fact.”
Ms Cleeland said the Victorian Government had stepped away from producers’ best practices.
“Sustainability should be at the forefront of any policy and not be something that is putting you under even more pressure,” she said.
“If people want to support the environment, then buy your food from Victoria and not from overseas or interstate.”
Ms Cleeland said the opposition was committed to reminding Victorians of where their food came from, citing the results of a 10-year-old survey.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear of the growing ‘disconnect’ between students and their food — a disconnection with the land.
“We can humanise that story.”
The meeting also heard from farmers concerned with a range of issues that included rising land tax, renewable energy, stock losses from wild dogs and the collapsed kangaroo processing industry which has resulted in large pasture loss for farmers.
Ms Cleeland said food availability was too important for Victorians to be used as bargaining chips with cross bench candidates in pre- and post-election negotiations.
“We need to make sure that our agricultural cards are never on the table.”
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