Victorian duck producer Luv-A-Duck was today fined $360K by the Federal Court sitting at Melbourne for false claims its products were “range reared…in the spacious Victorian Wimmera wetlands” when in fact the ducks were at all times confined to their shed. The claims were taken up by the Panel and Animal Liberation NSW with the ACCC, which subsequently commenced the Federal Court proceeding: click here for a report http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/luvaduck-fined-360000-for-falsely-advertising-its-products-as-free-range/story-fni0fee2-1226751256128

Luv-A-Duck is one of Australia’s two main producers. The other principal duck producer, Sydney producer Pepes Ducks, was similarly found in December last year by the Federal Court to have engaged in misleading conduct about the manner in which its ducks were raised with claims that its ducks were “open range” and “grown nature’s way”: see http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3658069.htm. More than 8 million ducks are raised intensively each year in Australia.

The Panel was responsible for initiating the pioneering ACCC proceeding against major meat chicken producers for claims that their animals were “free to roam”, when in fact they were not: see http://bawp.au/meat-chickens-the-accc-case/. 551 million meatchickens are raised each year in Australia. Supermarket chain, Woolworths, recently announced it proposed to sell products which addressed the plight of meat chickens.

Photo courtesy of World News.