I knew about sow crates[1], I know about poultry farms, plenty of people always have.

• Quite often when I go into town to do Saturday errands there are people with sow crates, model pigs and petitions.
• From time to time the TV has clips of sow crated pigs and battery hens
• Photos of desparate pigs and miserable hens appear in popular culture; movies, docos, magazines, newspapers.
• The animal rights campaigners and Green Party have run ad after ad and issued press statement after press statement.

It is inconceivable that any politician has not had every chance to find out about sow crates. Any MP who doesn’t know has avoided knowing, any Minister of Agriculture (past or present) who didn’t know has been completely remiss.

[1] I have been vegetarian since my early 20s so I have no reason to pay attention to pig farming practices, I have never been involved in the animal rights movement. I have less reason to know about this than the average NZer.