“We tried to raise these pigs the way they want to be raised,” said Mr. Kim Mun-jo, who operates the Together Happy Farm. “And we try to operate the farm from the perspective of the animals.” (image: Yonhap)
GIMHAE, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) – The Bugyeong Pig Farming Association (BPFA) from Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, has launched for the first time in Korea what it’s calling ‘Animal Welfare-Certified Pork’.
These pork products were developed at the ‘Together Happy Farm’ (translated from Korean), which was certified as an ‘animal welfare farm’ on June 30.
The farm currently raises 2,400 pigs in a much more pleasant environment than an ordinary hog farm. The pigs from the farm were transported by an animal welfare-certified vehicle (no. 14-003) and slaughtered at an animal welfare-certified slaughterhouse in Gimhae.
The final products were also sold with an animal welfare-certification mark.
“We tried to raise these pigs the way they want to be raised,” said Mr. Kim Mun-jo, who operates the Together Happy Farm. “And we try to operate the farm from the perspective of the animals. The number of pigs is small relative to the amount of area that we cover, but we figured raising these pigs in a more pleasant and healthy environment is the key to producing finer meat.”
The final products were also sold with an animal welfare-certification mark. (image: Yonhap)
Bugyeong and Gimhae Joint Markets for Livestock Products are two slaughterhouses operated by the BPFA. They were designated as animal welfare-certified slaughterhouses on January 9, 2014. The pigs from the Together Happy Farm were processed at the Gimhae Joint Market for Livestock Product.
In order for a slaughterhouse to be animal welfare-certified, it must minimize the injuries and pain inflicted on animals in the transport and slaughtering process. Animals must also be killed when they’re unconscious, and the entire process has to be observable via security cameras.
“To be honest, animal welfare is not the easiest path, but it’s the path that we believe everyone should take,” said Mr. Lee Jae-sik, president of the BPFA. (image: Yonhap)
“To be honest, animal welfare is not the easiest path, but it’s the path that we believe everyone should take,” said Mr. Lee Jae-sik, president of the BPFA. “If we can provide consumers with healthier and tastier meat, our livestock business will have a better competitive edge, especially in a Korean market that is rapidly opening up to foreign imports.”
In fact, the BPFA’s leading brand, ‘PorkValley’, is a five-time first prize winner and three-time second prize winner at the Livestock Product Brand Competition organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. PorkValley has also been certified as an ‘Excellent Livestock Product Brand’ by Consumers Korea for 12 consecutive years since 2005.
In order for a slaughterhouse to be animal welfare-certified, it must minimize the injuries and pain inflicted on animals in the transport and slaughtering process. Animals must also be killed when they’re unconscious, and the entire process has to be observable via security cameras. (Image credit: Kobiz Media)
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
