On March 30th and 31st, New Zealand meat industry leaders are meeting in Wellington to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first frozen meat exports. We don't think the meat industries contribution to animal cruelty, global warming and environmental destruction is anything to celebrate, so we plan to oppose the conference and the meat industry.

The Wellington Animal Rights Network is inviting activists from around the country to come to Wellington for three days of protests and other events during the meat conference.

Reasons to oppose the meat industry

1. The meat industry is responsible for animal cruelty.
Every year New Zealand slaughters around 24 million lambs, 2.2 million beef cattle, 1 million dairy calves, 750,000 deer, 350,000 pigs, 67 million chickens, and three quarters of a million tonnes of fishes.

Many of these animals have endured appalling lives. Broiler chickens are crowded into huge dark sheds and killed at only a few weeks of age. Thousands of pregnant sows endure boredom and frustration, biting at the bars of stalls too cramped to allow them to turn around. Sheep and cattle suffer from invasive procedures like castration, artificial insemination, tail docking etc. Every second of every minute of every day, an animal dies a horrible violent death in a slaughterhouse. There is no such thing as `humane slaughter'.

2. The Meat industry contributes to global warming
Methane emissions from ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, deer and goats) are a primary source of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 31.8 percent of our total emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions are also a waste by-product of agriculture, arising from processes of nitrification and denitrification in the soil. The major source of nitrogen for these processes is animal waste(urine and dung). Nitrous oxide emissions are also associated with use of nitrogen-based fertilisers, including the run-off and leaching contributions. As the government fully supports the animal agriculture industry, we shouldn't expect them to highlight the industries contribution to global warming anytime soon.

3. Meat is bad for our health
The Meat Industry puts a huge amount of effort into convincing us that meat is good for your health but the opposite is true. From chicken dinners and cheese to fast-food burgers and fish fillets, animal products have none of the fibre and anti-oxidants that we need to stay healthy. But they are loaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, chemicals and contaminants like E.coli and salmonella. Eating meat, dairy products and eggs contributes to obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, impotence, osteoporosis and many other illnesses.

Studies have shown that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat-eaters, and only 40 percent of their cancer rate. A 21 year old long study comparing meat eaters and vegetarians showed that the greater the meat consumption, the greater the death rate from all causes combined.

If you oppose cruelty, if you want a world where animals and the planet are treated with respect, if you want to make a stand against the meat industry, come along to the following events:

Thursday 29th March. Vegan dinner, St Johns Church Hall, Corner Dixon and Willis Streets, Wellington. Starts 7pm, costs $10/$8 unwaged.
Yummy vegan food, dessert, inspiring speakers to be announced, and a film.

Friday March 30th 8.30am Protest at the opening of the conference. Outside Te Papa Tongarewa Museum.

Saturday March 31st
11am main protest against the Meat Industry Conference. Outside Te Papa Tongarewa Museum. Bring noisemakers, banners etc

Protest outside parliament as the Meat Industry Gala Dinner, Parliament Buildings, 6.30pm start

Other events to be announced will take place throughout the Friday and Saturday.

For more information contact:
Wellington Animal Rights Network
PO Box 6387 Wellington 6141
Ph 04 3856728
email nzarinfo@gmail.com