Major Hawaii Importer Vows to Stop Importing Live Pigs for Slaughter - Victory!
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

BornFree USA
March 2009

The primary importer of pigs to the island of Oahu, Hawaii Food Products, has indicated to the Handle with Care coalition that it will not import live pigs to Hawaii as of April!

In 2007, Born Free USA joined forces with other organizations as part of the Handle with Care Coalition and conducted an investigation into one of the worst transportation routes pigs travel in North America — the transport of live pigs to Hawaii.

Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs are crammed into trucks and shipping containers for an agonizing journey of more than 4,000 miles, from the mainland to Hawaii that ends at the slaughterhouse.

During this journey the pigs are never once unloaded to the ground to rest and go for long periods of time without receiving water or food. Due to overcrowding, stress, fighting, and overexposure, many pigs become ill or die. At the end of the journey they’re crudely unloaded into cramped, filthy pens at the slaughterhouse, where they may remain for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered. The investigative video can be viewed here.

In 2008, more than 13,000 pigs were shipped thousands of miles from U.S. mainland states to Hawaii, and the meat from many of these animals was marketed to unsuspecting consumers as being produced in Hawaii.

As part of the Coalition’s ongoing efforts to end this horrific practice, in January we launched an advertising campaign to educate Hawaii residents and tourists about the plight of pigs transported from mainland North America to the Hawaiian Islands. Our efforts have paid off!

The primary importer of pigs to the island of Oahu, Hawaii Food Products, has indicated to the Handle with Care coalition that it will not import live pigs to Hawaii as of April!

The campaign ran bus ads in more than 500 Honolulu-area buses from January while a series of 6 print advertisements were published in the Honolulu Weekly newspaper. The print ad included a clip-out coupon for mailing to the 3 Hawaii grocery store chains selling pork from imported pigs with the misleading “island produced” labels.

In addition to this ad campaign the Coalition filed a legal petition with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture asking to investigate the practice of placing “island produced” labels on meat from imported animals, and prohibit the use of the these labels if they violate Hawaii law.

To see other ways, humans hurt pigs, visit our image gallery.

Return to Animal Rights Articles