RNZSPCA responds to Close Up programme

Blue Tick guarantees cruelty free.


Consumers concerned about the way their food is farmed need look no further than products marked with the RNZSPCA’s Blue Tick logo says the organisation’s national chief executive.



Robyn Kippenberger was commenting on last night’s (August 2) Close Up programme on TV One about how farming practices affect consumers’ food choices.



A poll of viewers during the show showed 59 per cent felt that animal welfare was a deciding factor when they purchased foods whereas people polled outside a supermarket were less sure.



“We make it easy for people to choose cruelty-free food,” Ms Kippenberger says. “Products accepted for our Blue Tick programme display the SPCA logo superimposed over a blue tick surrounded by the words Royal New Zealand SPCA Approved.

“To earn the right to display the Blue Tick logo, food producers must meet the SPCA’s rigorous and transparent ethical standards and undergo thorough auditing on a regular basis by qualified and independent inspectors. It’s a guarantee of cruelty free production.”



Ms Kippenberger says ‘cruelty free’ means the animals are farmed according to their social structures to ensure they are free to express their normal behaviour and are processed for food in a humane manner that respects their right to dignity.



In New Zealand, the SPCA is the only independent body that audits animal welfare on the farm. Current products carrying the SPCA Blue Tick logo include cage-free barn and free range eggs and free-range and free-farmed pigs.



The RNZSPCA’s animal welfare accreditation scheme has been operating since 2001 and was branded as the Blue Tick in 2009. You can find out more about the SPCA’s Blue Tick programme here http://rnzspca.org.nz/.



Issued for the RNZSPCA by Pead PR