Prominent Norwich Green Councillor Adrian Ramsay will call for an end to factory farming when he joins campaigners from Animal Aid at an awareness raising event in Norwich city centre this Monday 26th July. Campaigners will highlight the human health risks associated with keeping animals in poor conditions on factory farms.
A stall will be held at the bottom of Hayhill on Gentleman's Walk from 12 noon until 2pm [PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: 1PM with Adrian Ramsay]. It incorporates a series of hard-hitting images, all taken in the UK, designed to expose the conditions that animals endure in some factory farms.
As well as being Deputy Leader of the Green Party nationally and a Norwich Councillor, Adrian Ramsay has been a member of the national campaign group Animal Aid for 15 years. He commented:
"This is an issue very close to my heart – Green Party policies on animal protection were one of the things that first attracted me to the party 12 years ago, and they remain just as important now.
"There is clear evidence of a link between factory farming and disease outbreaks like bird flu and BSE. The Green Party is the only party that has pledged to end factory farming in the UK, as well as enforce strict welfare standards. We are widely acknowledged to have the strongest policies on animal protection.
"This campaign will show that ending factory farming is the right ethical decision in terms of animal welfare but also the right decision for human health."
During the 2007/8 bird flu outbreak, hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on East Anglian farms to try to prevent the spread of this virulent disease. During an investigation it was uncovered that Bernard Matthews, the UK's largest turkey farmer, who farms more than seven million turkeys each year, had been warned several times about hygiene lapses on its farms.
The Green Party would encourage more sustainable forms of food production in place of factory farming. Adrian Ramsay said:
"We need to move away from factory farming and towards farming that is healthier for humans, animals and the environment. This means more localised and less intensive agriculture."
Animal Aid has published a video on its website showing the horrific conditions in which the majority of Britain's farm animals live. The video can be viewed at: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/CAMPAIGNS/blog//4//?be_id=264.
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