Second protest against Tegel's chicken farm plan in Arapohue, Northland

Tegel is under pressure to pull the plug on plans for a gigantic broiler chicken farm at Arapohue. Photo / Supplied

Kaipara locals will join an animal advocacy group during a second protest against the setting up of a broiler chicken farm in Northland.

The protest, outside Tegel Foods' headquarters in Newmarket, Auckland tomorrow is being organised by the Dargaville Chicken Farm Community Group and Direct Animal Action.

Tegel has applied for resource consents to set up a broiler chicken farm at Arapohue with a capacity to stock up to 1.3 million chickens and employ 28 people.

A hearing was scheduled to start in Dargaville tomorrow but has been put on hold after Tegel requested more time to look at issues raised that required further work.

Group chairwoman Karen Exley said her members, officials from the nearby Kapehu Marae which was also against Tegel's plans, and supporters in Auckland would join the protest from 12pm to 1pm.

"At the end of the day, Tegel is only taking a break to look at their documents and to rejig their applications but, for us, we have to keep up the pressure," Exley said.

"Tegel hasn't said they don't want to do it. They have only suspended their plans which means they could turn around tomorrow and say they are going ahead with the broiler chicken farm."

Direct Animal Action spokeswoman Deirdre Sims said Tegel had stalled its mega factory plans because the company was running scared in the face of so much public opposition and evidence of abysmal animal welfare practices.

She said her group was teaming up with Kaipara locals to keep the pressure on Tegel because they wanted the company to pull the plug on the mega farm for good.

"A large proportion of New Zealand is really disappointed in Tegel after the horrific animal suffering we revealed at their farms last week. We're still awaiting the results of MPI's investigation and we're hopeful of a prosecution."

She was referring to Direct Animal Action filming injured and dead birds at a Tegel farm in Helensville.

"In addition to Tegel's poor animal welfare practices, their bullying of the Kaipara locals over the mega farm is just unacceptable. Tegel haven't been listening to Kaipara's concerns but luckily the rest of New Zealand has," Sims said.

"We're really looking forward to standing side by side with the Kaipara locals to show Tegel the fight's not over yet," she said.

Tegel spokesman Liam Baldwin said the company was committed to working with the Arapohue and the wider Dargaville communities as it worked through the resource consent process with the Northland Regional and Kaipara District councils.

"While we acknowledge rights to protest peacefully, we're also committed to using existing channels to listen to and update the community on the Arapohue chicken farm proposal."