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Website last updated
25-Jan-2010
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The Otway Pork™
story...
How It Began
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1992, we formed a company to establish a free range breeding herd to produce
pigs in a natural, outdoor environment where the welfare of the pig was
paramount. That company, The Pastoral Pork Company, is now Australia’s largest
outdoor pig producer, and we are proud to be the first pig producer to achieve
national accreditation under the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. |
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| In
2001, we began to sell our tasty, tender pork through selected Melbourne butcher
shops under our Otway Pork brand. Today we have expanded our farms to meet
increasing demand, and Otway Pork is now available in butcher shops and
supermarkets in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the ACT. |
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Bred Free Range
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Otway Pork pigs are bred outdoors at our farms near the Otway Ranges in South
Western Victoria and at Edenhope near the South Australian border. Our
parent pigs are free to roam around their paddocks, wallow in their mud
baths and shelter in purpose-built open huts. As the mother sow approaches
the time to give birth,
she is moved to another paddock where she has access to her own insulated,
straw-based hut in which she can follow her nesting instincts and have her
litter in a quiet natural environment. |
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Once the litter is born, Otway piglets stay in their hut for protection from
predators. As they grow, they venture out from their huts and are free to play,
forage and socialise in open paddocks. At about four weeks of age, Otway
piglets are weaned from their mothers and are moved to large straw-based
shelters to protect them from the elements (in particular, the sun and heat).
In the shelters, Otway pigs continue to be free to move about and socialise, and
they have access at
all times to clean drinking water, a healthy grain-based diet, bedding and good
stock care.
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It is important to note that Otway pigs spend all of their lives on earth or
straw, and are never housed on concrete, and they are never kept in sow stalls
or cages. |
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All Natural
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Otway Pork pigs are fed a natural grain-based diet free from added growth
hormones and in-feed antibiotics. They are selected for their suitability
to outdoor breeding conditions, and for their superior meat quality
characteristics including leanness, tenderness and colour. This means you
can be assured that what you are eating is all natural and you can enjoy that
natural flavour.
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RSPCA Accreditation
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The welfare of our pigs has always been paramount. We do not crate or cage
Otway pigs, we don’t dock their tails, and we don’t use nose rings – these are
all important in keeping pigs free from pain and discomfort. Otway Pork
was also the first pig producer in Australia to adopt the RSPCA Approved Farming
Scheme. This scheme is based on a set principles established by the RSPCA known
as the “five freedoms”:
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Freedom from hunger and thirst
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Freedom from discomfort
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Freedom from pain
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Freedom to express normal behavior
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Freedom from fear and distress.
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Otway Pork is produced to RSPCA standards
For all creatures great and small |
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are subject to regular farm audits by RSPCA assessors to ensure our
compliance to the standards. |
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