The Greens are firmly opposed to all forms cruelty against animals, and believe that more needs to be done to protect animals from human cruelty. The Greens believe that four of the most important, ongoing issues of animal cruelty in South Australia are:

• Intensive pig farming
• Duck hunting
• Jumps racing
• Reform to animal cruelty prosecution

Over the past four years, Mark Parnell has campaigned strongly on all four of these issues, and The Greens that banning these four practices will greatly reduce cruelty towards animal within South Australia.

Intensive Pig Farming

Pigs are smart, playful and caring animals. Unfortunately, most pigs bred in South Australia are bred by 'intensive farming' methods, that The Greens believe are unnecessarily cruel.

Pregnant pigs are kept in 'sow stalls' - stalls so small that they have no room to even turn around, and no bedding, so that they are forced to lie or stand on hard ground - in some cases for their entire pregnancy.

Sow stalls were found to be "causing serious welfare problems for the animals" by the European Commission, have been banned in England and are being phased out in the European Union.

Read Mark's media release calling for an end to cruel, overcrowded piggeries.

Newborn piglets also have to suffer through having their tails cut off, their teeth clipped, and even being castrated, without any form of pain relief. This is simply cruel.

See Mark Parnell's 2007 motion in Parliament calling for an independent inquiry into the handling of animal cruelty complaints at South Australian piggeries: Click here

Visit Animals Australia campaign page: Save Babe

"The current standards allow for animals to be kept in conditions that are unacceptably cruel... Keeping them in pens that are so small that the animal cannot even turn around or get into a comfortable position is simply unacceptable." - Mark Parnell

 

 

Jumps Racing

In 2009, 13 horses were killed in jumps racing in South Australia and Victoria, for a total of 27 deaths over the last two years.

With Victoria banning jumps racing from the end of 2010, South Australia will be the only state in which the cruel sport is permitted.

A senate inquiry in 1991 concluded that state governments should phase out jumps racing over three years. That was nineteen years ago!

Unfortunately, in 2009, one in 20 jumps horses was killed and one in five jumps horses fell - the worst rate of fall and injury in 35 years - so the efforts of the industry to make the sport safer have failed.

Even racing supporters do not support jumps racing:

• Racing's own newspaper, The Winning Post, recorded an 84 per cent agreement for high-weight flat racing to replace jumps racing in an opinion poll.
• In terms of punters, an average of $2.50 is wagered for every dollar of prize money put up in jumps races, in contrast to normal flat racing, where $10 is wagered for every dollar of prize money.

Mark has issued two media releases, on 08/05/09 and 27/11/09, calling on Thoroughbred Racing SA to ban jumps racing, and if they were unwilling to act, calling on the Racing Minister, Michael Wright, to step in.

On December 2nd, after no action from Minister Wright or Thoroughbred Racing SA, Mark moved for a motion calling for the banning of Jumps Racing in SA. Debate on the Bill was adjourned, to read Mark's speech in Parliament click here.

"Jumps racing is dangerous for horses and dangerous for jockeys. The simple fact is there is no way to make jumps racing safe. The time for a permanent ban in South Australia has well and truly come." - Mark Parnell

Duck Hunting

After no duck hunting in 2007 and 2008, due to low bird numbers and the poor state of bird habitat in the State's South East, the Greens were very disappointed that the Rann Government's decision to allow duck hunting in 2009.

This was against the express advice of the Environment Department's advisory Council (SA National Parks and Wildlife Council), and rejected concerns raised by environmental experts that duck numbers were dangerously low in SA. See Mark's media release, or a transcript of his interview with Mike Smithson.

The day before duck hunting season opened, Mark issued a media release, announcing his plans to introduce a Bill to ban duck hunting in South Australia.

Following the conclusion of the duck hunting season, Mark followed through on his promise to introduce a Bill banning duck hunting. See Mark's media release, his speech in Parliament, or for a copy of the Bill click here.

Sadly the Bill was not supported any other Member of the Legislative Council and so was defeated. Click here to read Mark's speech before the final vote, or see his media release from the following day.

Prosecuting Animal Cruelty

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