Animal Welfare – Veterinary-led response to the National Party’s agriculture policy announcement

VETERINARY-LED RESPONSE TO THE NATIONAL PARTY’S AGRICULTURE POLICY LAUNCHED TODAY THAT INCLUDES RESTARTING LIVE EXPORTS OF CATTLE “WITH GOLD STANDARD RULES,” AND ROLLING BACK RULES AROUND WINTER GRAZING

“It is enormously disappointing to hear that the National would consider reinstating livestock exports. It’s especially disappointing given that several National Party MPs sat in on the Select Committee hearing where a harrowing description was given of animals’ experiences during livestock export.

“Irrespective of vessels being purpose built, animals would still be subjected to sea journeys of up to three weeks and a journey across the equator. Managing cattle welfare in these circumstances while maintaining an economically viable model would be extremely difficult and for that reason could never be classed as ‘gold standard’. As the former CEO of Air NZ, Mr Luxon certainly knows what ‘gold standard’ travelling is – his proposal certainly isn’t that.

“VAWA is concerned that National’s policy proposal once again highlights the vulnerabilities for animals in Aotearoa. The ban was a decision made based on the unacceptable animal welfare outcomes – a decision that put welfare first and with that, elevated our animal welfare credentials for the long-term as a trading nation. Animal welfare is not political – it is scientific and as such should not be used as a vote-chasing, political football.”

“VAWA also notes that National intends to redress winter grazing rules. While what they are talking about sits under the Fresh Water Regulations 2020, there is also a significant and historically unacceptable animal welfare aspect to winter grazing. We don’t have to look back too far to remind ourselves of the significant erosion of the industry’s social licence to operate that occurred when images of cows udder deep in mud and calves being born on mud were widely shared.

“Animal welfare regulations to address the key concerns were recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce and were included in NAWAC’s draft Code of Welfare – Dairy Cattle. It’s entirely possible that these regulations – that only set out bare minimum for the animals involved such as having ready access to fresh water, a comfortable place to lie and not calving in mud – will not be progressed. If the Freshwater Regulations are also rolled back, we will once again find farmers and the sector exposed by operators behaving in a way that further undermines social licence, has unacceptable animal welfare outcomes and fails to protect our land and water.

“Once again, National is putting economics is put in front of the welfare of our animals and Papatūānuku by failing to provide useful leadership that will protect the sector from these risks.

“Aside the journey time, achieving acceptable animal welfare outcomes would likely mean air-conditioned vessels, automated feeding and watering systems, an effluent management system as well as significantly lower stocking rates so all animals can lie comfortable when they so choose. Floor surfaces must not cause foot and soft tissue injury and veterinary treatment facilities such as hospital pens and head crushes would be needed for when they do. None of this has been consistently provided to date.

“Trans-equatorial journeys where temperature and humidity indexes result in regular and severe animal welfare compromise, dictate that an airconditioned vessel would likely be needed. It was stated during the Select Committee hearings on banning livestock exports, “In my opinion, heat stress is an inevitable and unacceptable aspect of transporting cattle by sea across the equator.

“Another issue raised by during Committee hearings was the very significant noise pollution created by large fans, installed in an attempt to mitigate heat stress. In the same anonymous submission to the Select Committee, the author noted, “In addition to the cramped conditions and steel flooring, the lights were kept on 24/7 for safety reasons, and the ventilation fans always operated to keep ammonia levels from rising and assist with reducing heat stress. The noise of the fans was deafening, I had to wear ear protection at all times, and the cattle were subjected to it for about 3 weeks, day and night.

“Purpose built ships cannot mitigate journey length and the while possibilities to exist to address some of the other challenges, the livestock export sector would surely have addressed these is if had been economic to do so.

“Upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare was at “…the heart of our decision…” Damien O’Connor said when announcing the ban and he noted livestock exports revenue represented “…approximately 0.2 percent of New Zealand’s primary sector exports revenue since 2015.” This flies in the face of McLay’s statement on Midday Report (19/4/2023) at that livestock exports are a “very important part of our trade…

“In addition, National says it will, “…introduce a certification regime for the importers of destination countries to ensure animals live in conditions at the same standards required in New Zealand.” While VAWA agrees that animals ought to be able to expect a fair deal and a good life once exported, and noting that geo-politics is not VAWA’s area of expertise, it’s unclear how New Zealand would have any legal mandate to control other countries’ animal welfare standards. Additionally, navigating that with, for example, China would put our wider trade and tourism relationships in an uncomfortable place.

“There’s the additional issue of robust auditing for whatever certification is set up – there’s currently no agreed international animal welfare standard that would allow for meaningful comparisons and auditing,” concludes Dr Beattie.

Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa’s vision is to create “A Good Life for All.”

Our purpose is to create better lives for animals by creating influence through advocacy, submissions, education, consultation, and collaboration.

Led by veterinarians, and as the only group of animal welfare advocates using expertise in veterinary and animal welfare science that is not compromised by commercial or vested interests, Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa provides a uniquely, independent perspective on animal welfare.