For the Ladner children (Ned 10, Tiggy 6, Bonnie 2), there’s no confusion about how their food gets from the paddock to the plate.
That’s because they’re knee deep in the family farm – Gooralie free-range pork, near Goondiwindi. Dad Mark Ladner, says his kids are learning early about how to treat animals. “The kids love the pigs. They’re up there giving us a hand to move sows between paddocks and this close contact with lots of animals is one of the benefits of growing up on a farm.”
Gooralie free-range pork is the RSPCA’s only approved pig farm in Queensland. When Mark and Charisse decided to add pigs to the family’s mixed-farming business 10 years ago, they wanted everything to be welfare-friendly. “I wanted to set it up in a manner where if I was a pig I would want to be there. We went a step further and got RSPCA accreditation so our customers had a guarantee that the piggery is animal welfare friendly.” Sows on RSPCA Approved farms are not kept in stalls and have the freedom to forage, root and wallow in the mud. Piglets don’t have their tails docked or their teeth clipped. “I like the fact that pigs on our farm are in a natural state and they get to behave naturally.”
Gooralie pork is in 21 specialty stores and butchers throughout Queensland – just look for the RSPCA Paw of Approval. To find RSPCA Approved products (be they pork or eggs) near you, visit rspcaapproved.org.au
