The ' Say No to Pig Improvement Company’s Expansion In Matong’ campaign (City of Wagga Wagga council, NSW, Australia), is a community based, grass roots campaign.
The campaign’s goal is to stop Wagga Wagga shire council’s approval of a planning development application lodged by the Pig Improvement Company (PIC), for the expansion of PIC’s current intensive piggery operations, including, a proposed new development at Matong NSW.
The campaign will focus on, and target, three key areas - Animals, Environment and People.
PIC has lodged a development application (Designated and Integrated), with the City of Wagga Wagga council for a new pig herd in Matong NSW at an estimated cost of $9,000,000. The proposed site buffers the borders of Wagga Wagga, Narrandera and Coolamon councils’.
The four week public exhibition period for PIC’s DA starts on Thursday 11 April and concludes at COB, Monday 13 May 2019.
PIC is proposing to construct a 1,200 sow farrow to finish genetic nucleus pig herd (GN herd), two additional dwellings and associated infrastructure 9 km south west of Matong. The capacity of 1,200 sows equates to approximately 13,000 pigs or 15,000 SPU. A 1,200 sow herd can produce 270 potentially ‘selectable females’ a week which facilitates herd repopulations and depopulation. The development will consist of 16 pull plug sheds connected by a central walkway. Effluent will be contained in an anaerobic pond serviced by two wet weather ponds. An effluent irrigation area of 230 ha has been identified with additional irrigation area available if required.
All full-grown breeding stock will be transported to customers via Slatteries Road to Old Narrandera Road and will travel west to the Newell Highway. Stock for processing (slaughter), will be transported to the Big River Pork abattoir in South Australia.
According to the PIC, piglets at their proposed Matong NSW intensive piggery will be weaned at approximately three weeks of age and transferred to the nursery shed until approximately 13 weeks of age. They are then transferred to the grower/finisher sheds where they remain until approximately 22 weeks of age. THEN 50% of these babies will be transported across TWO states, in all weather conditions, to the Big River Pork abattoir in SA, where they will be gassed (Co2), and then slaughtered at around 22 weeks of age.
PIC’s CURRENT OWNED AND OPERATING GRONG GRONG INTENSIVE PIGGERY
Exposed by Aussie Farms in May 2014, PIC already owns and operates the Grong Grong intensive piggery near Narrandera NSW - one of the largest piggeries in NSW.
Grong Grong piggery features a massive sow stall shed, with 8 rows of tiny metal cages stretching far into the distance, confining hundreds and hundreds of pregnant sows for up to 16 weeks at a time.
Several piglets were found in pieces - some in the farrowing crates, some in the aisles of the farrowing crates, and some outside. One piglet had been ripped in half with his legs nearby. Another piglet's head was found in the aisle near his legs. The back half of a piglet was found in a farrowing crate. Several buckets of dead piglets were found inside and outside the farrowing sheds. Trolleys full of rotting piglet tails were found in the farrowing crate sheds. Many sows were found with pressure sores and other injuries.
On the weekend of February 21 and 22 2015, about 500 pigs died from heat stress when an air-cooling system failed at PIC’s intensive piggery in Grong Grong: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/500-pigs-die-from-heat-stress-at-nsw-piggery-20150313-143j4l.html
Further details about the PIC Grong Grong intensive piggery can be viewed here: http://www.aussiepigs.com/piggeries/grong-grong
BIG RIVER PORK SLAUGHTERHOUSE
Exposed by Aussie Farms in May 2014, hidden cameras were placed inside the Big River Pork pig slaughterhouse near Murray Bridge, South Australia. The resulting day of footage, sent anonymously to Aussie Farms, depicts workers using electric cattle prods excessively to force pigs into the carbon dioxide (CO2) gas chamber, where they then scream and trash as they suffocate and full unconscious.
Big River Pork is a consortium of 4 major Australian pork industry players (Auspork, B.E. Campbell, George Weston Foods, and Hurstbridge Abattoirs), with apparently state-of-the-art export pork "processing" facilities. It is the largest pig slaughterhouse in the state of South Australia, killing an average of 13000 pigs per week (676000 per year) as of May 2007. The second largest is the Primo abattoir at Port Wakefield, killing roughly 10000 pigs per week.
The Pig Improvement Company (PIC) propose that if their Wagga Wagga shire council planning development application for expanded intensive piggery operations at Matong NSW is approved, 'Stock for processing (slaughter), will be transported to the Big River Pork abattoir in South Australia.'
Further details about the Big River Pork slaughterhouse can be viewed here: https://www.aussiefarms.org.au/facilities/32a6c-big-river-pork-abattoir
