Forcing pig farmers and slaughterhouses to install video surveillance could stop animal activists creating biosecurity risks by trespassing onto private properties looking for breaches of animal welfare, according to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry report.
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The economy and infrastructure committee report also called on the Victorian government to establish an Independent Office of Animal Protection to monitor animal welfare pressure points through the supply chain, including auditing of the CCTV footage.
The committee's two findings and 18 recommendations, that also included a call for the phasing out of CO2 stunning and for the Allan Government to cultivate a local lab-grown meat industry, were supported by committee chair and Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and Labor and Greens committee members.
However, a dissenting paper authored by Liberal and Nationals MPs was included in the tabled documents and recommended that the Victorian Government instead establish laws imposing tougher penalties for illegal trespassing by activists on farms, including mandating the enforcement of minimum penalties.
The minority report also recommended that the government recognise the industry for its already high level of compliance, pointing out that it is one of the most rigorous independently audited and regulated agriculture sectors.
The inquiry was formed following the release of footage of pigs in Victorian factory farms and slaughterhouses collected by activists.
Other report recommendations included a complete and permanent ban on sow stalls and farrowing crates and support for farmers to transition to outdoor group housing.
It also called for animal welfare inspectors to be given powers to instigate unannounced and ad-hoc inspections, an alternative be found to the use of blunt force for piglet euthanasia and the mandating of straw bedding substrate to stimulate natural pig behaviours to prevent injury and abrasion.
It also recommended that mandatory reporting of the methods of procurement and extraction of semen from boars, and the frequency of each boar used, the method, dates, and frequency of the artificial insemination of each sow, be introduced.
Along with a requirement be placed over the pig industry to implement the regular surveillance monitoring and public reporting of antibiotic use on Victorian farms.
However, the issue of biosecurity was not included in the committee's terms of reference and was addressed only "briefly" as it had been raised in a 2020 inquiry and despite industry participants, including Australian Pork chief executive Margo Andrae, telling the inquiry that "the industry lives and breathes biosecurity".
The report noted that evidence presented to the Committee suggested there had been no biosecurity incidents within the Victorian pork industry as a result of animal activist trespass or evidence the actions had "harmed agricultural biosecurity".
"The Committee understands that the illegal trespass on farms and meat processing facilities does represent a biosecurity risk," the report said.
"However, as this issue was covered in detail in the previous Inquiry and is not within the terms of reference of this Inquiry, it does not make any findings or recommendations here."
It went on to say that, instead of directly addressing the issue, "it is the Committee's view, and one that is supported by the activists who undertake the illegal trespass activities", that the use of CCTV in farms and abattoirs, and the appropriate access to the footage from that CCTV, would obviate any need for trespass and would resolve the issue of biosecurity risks from illegal trespass."
New rules introduced earlier this year would also force Australian meatworks certified under the industry's welfare certification scheme to install video surveillance systems by 2026.
Meanwhile, the committee report also said the cultivated meat industry was a "potentially viable, ethical and environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional pork", in claiming it had the exact molecular composition and taste of traditional pork.
It recommended that the Allan government investigate its economic potential.
In the chair's forward, Ms Purcell said many of the recommendations could be incorporated into the government's modernised animal protection laws contained within the Animal Care and Protection Bill.
"I encourage the Victorian Government to take up this legislative opportunity to ensure the plight of pigs is reduced," she said.
"It is clear that our growing population and its demand for protein has resulted in farming practices prioritising efficiency and production growth at the expense of animal welfare.
"It is imperative upon us all to reconsider our relationship with meat, and more so animals, and the extent of suffering we inflict upon them.
"Pigs are one of the most remarkable animals on the planet. They are smarter than the dogs we share our hearts and homes with and have a similar cognitive ability to three-year-old children. They can comprehend, remember and empathise."
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