Hen defenders on Auckland streets tomorrow
Craddock Farms would be one of the largest egg producers in NZ - with special audio feature.
Click the NBR Radio box for on-demand special feature audio: Interview with SAFE's Abi Izzard on the protest of a caged hen operation at Pukekohe
Animal rights activists will demonstrate outside the Environment Court in Auckland tomorrow morning to protest the establishment of a caged hen operation at Pukekohe.
Craddock Farms is taking an Environment Court appeal which will be heard at the Federal Street hearing rooms.
The company has adjusted its plans for one of the largest colony-caged hen farms in Patumahoe Rd by adding up to 120 10-metre-chimneys to its sheds.
An Auckland Council consent panel declined the original application in January over concerns about odour after also considering effects on soil, traffic, stormwater, traffic, rural character and visual amenity.
The Environment Court will hear the company's proposal for a 310,000-chicken farm, which would produce about 10% of the country’s eggs, and industry jobs.
In addition to the chimneys, the company will also move the sheds to a more central location on the property.
There was some drama during the initial council hearing when activists confronted the egg producer’s farm at Pukekohe last summer. The activists claimed they had been pelted with stones and a man had grabbed protesters.
Abi Izzard, a representative of activist group SAFE, says there will be several groups demonstrating outside the Environment Court on Thursday before moving indoors to hear the evidence.
The activist groups object to hens being kept in cages.
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Chris Hutching
Wed, 25 Nov 2015
Wed, 25 Nov 2015
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Hen defenders on Auckland streets tomorrow
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