BBFAW: Animal activists target supermarkets over carbon dioxide gas

Animal activists are pressuring supermarkets and meat companies using CO2 to ditch the pig stunning technique.

Australia’s major supermarket chains are being urged to end the use of carbon dioxide gas to stun pigs before slaughter, by a “radical” global animal welfare benchmark intent on drastically reducing animal agriculture.

The Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare ranks some of the world’s largest agribusinesses and food retailers including Woolworths and Coles on their animal welfare practices. Both supermarkets have used the benchmark to guide their policies and were seeking to improve their rankings, with Woolworths chasing Tier 1 status.

The retailers are reviewing their association with the BBFAW, after The Weekly Times revealed it was set up by two UK-based animal activist organisations that want to halve the number of animals farmed for food by 2040, and would judge companies on their efforts to cut down their reliance on animal-based proteins.

The Weekly Times can also reveal the BBFAW is ranking companies on their commitments to end high concentration CO2 gas systems in the pig slaughter process.

This method of stunning pigs is widely used globally, including the USA and Europe, and is considered the most humane method at present.

A Woolworths spokesman said the supermarket giant was still reviewing its use of the BBFAW following the recent assessment criteria changes.

“We will continue to look to the expert guidance of scientists, animal welfare professionals, regulators and industry groups on this issue and work closely with our producers to protect the welfare of animals in our supply chain,” a spokesman said.

A Coles spokeswoman said it would continue to use “a range of measures of performance in animal welfare rather than the singular use of the BBFAW”.

Both retailers have been under pressure from the agriculture industry to dump the BBFAW, with the National Farmers’ Federation describing it as a “dangerous” and “radical” group.

Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive officer Patrick Hutchinson said CO2 was the “most humane, effective, and efficient method” to stun pigs in a larger processing setting.

“An advantage with CO2 stunning is that pigs can be handled and stunned in small groups rather than separated and restrained individually,” he said.

Australian Pork declined to comment.

Both supermarkets source pork from the Victorian abattoirs where footage, released last week, of pigs being gassed was secretly recorded by animal activists Farm Transparency Project.

PrimeSafe Victoria is launching an investigation into any possible animal welfare breaches. It is understood the statutory authority responsible for regulating meat in Victoria is also considering if there were any biosecurity breaches in relation to how the footage was captured.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said while he understood C02 stunning to be the most humane way to currently process pigs, he was not opposed to viable alternatives.

“Our research and development corporations have been looking at these issues for some time, and discussions are currently underway between state and territory governments and the Commonwealth about animal welfare standards,” he said.