Source: Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa
Veterinary-led response to assist media reporting on the recent round of cows-in-mud (i.e., intensive winter grazing (IWG)) photo evidence taken in Southland:
Dr Helen Beattie is the managing director of Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA) and in response to recent intensive winter grazing photo evidence, says:
“In all winter grazing systems – including crops and grass/baleage systems – poor practice leads to poor outcomes and our animals and our environment will suffer.
“I was a member of the Winter Grazing Taskforce, set up in 2019 by the NZ Government. It was made clear to us that additional regulatory tools were needed so animal welfare inspectors can deal with unacceptable animal welfare outcomes from poor winter grazing practices.
“Accordingly, the Taskforce recommended development of regulations to deal with for example, a lack of ready access to freshwater and inappropriate lying surfaces, and calves being born on mud.”
“NAWAC’s 2022 draft Code of Welfare for Dairy Cattle included all these regulatory proposals and they were strongly supported by many animal welfare advocates; they were opposed by DairyNZ. At this point, it is not clear whether or not these regulations will be progressed. In 2023, there no more regulatory tools available to animal welfare inspectors than there were in 2019.”
“Obviously, cows need ready access to fresh water – it is unfathomable that this even needs to be regulated; yet it does. And we know that lying is an important welfare indicator for cattle; their welfare is negatively affected when they cannot happily lie, rest and sleep. We know cattle prefer not to lie on sloppy, muddy surfaces such as those seen in many winter grazing scenarios.
“While there is biological variation with pregnancy length, if we move cows off crop and on to pasture 14 days before their scanned birthing date, most calves will be born after the cows are shifted. With this knowledge available to us, it is simply unacceptable to have cows calving on mud in the last 14 days of their pregnancy and I very much hope we don’t see this as we approach the start of calving.”
“Our calves and cows deserve better – they should not be born on, nor expect to live each winter in unacceptably muddy and unsuitable paddocks. It’s not good for our animals, our environment, nor our people.
“It’s enormously frustrating that animal welfare focused winter grazing regulations haven’t been progressed. Inaction on regulation development means cows continue to suffer unnecessarily and a photo slideshow from hell keeps documenting the unequivocal evidence of this to New Zealanders as well as our trading partners.”
About VAWA:
Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA) is a membership organisation, representing veterinarians, allied veterinary professionals, animal welfare scientists, lawyers, animal welfare advocates, and members of the public.
VAWA is the only animal welfare advocacy organisation in Aotearoa that is veterinary-led, independent, and science-backed. This, along with our expertise in veterinary and animal welfare science, and positioning that does not capitulate to commercial or vested interests, means that VAWA provides a uniquely, independent perspective on animal welfare.”
Winter Grazing | Background Information
Winter Grazing and Animal Welfare
1. In 2018/2019 Angus Robson spoke publicly about poor intensive winter grazing (IWG) practice while Matt Coffey and Geoff Reid were on the ground in Southland providing images; they were also being threatened by farmers (tyres slashed; wheel nuts loosened; farmers staking out Matt’s driveway).
2. In 2018/2019, because the industry was showing no leadership and because veterinarians have an important part to play in advocating for animal welfare, the New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Chief Veterinary Officer repeatedly called for a pan-sector working group to discuss winter grazing and try and agree to some bottom lines.
3. In August 2019, Minister O’Connor announced the Winter Grazing Taskforce – an animal welfare focused group that produced a report that recommended:
a. regulations for the ANIMAL WELFARE issues falling out of IWG
“Introduce new animal welfare regulations to set clear, directly enforceable bottom lines for intensive winter grazing and enhance the toolkit available for animal welfare inspectors.”
b. a winter grazing action group (WGAG) be set up to implement recommendations.
4. The action group provided guidance to farmers about short-term expected outcomes of winter grazing.
5. The three key regulations were proposed by NAWAC in the draft Code of Welfare for Dairy Cattle to improve the welfare of cattle in intensive winter grazing systems. These regulations would ensure that:
a. fresh drinking water is readily available.
b. a suitable lying area and surface is available.
c. calves are not born on mud.
6. From an animal welfare regulatory perspective, we are no further ahead in dealing with poor winter grazing practice than we were in 2018.
Winter Grazing and Te Taiao
At the same time as the Taskforce was sitting, Freshwater Leaders Group (FWLG) was providing advice on the development of what became the 2020 FW Regulations.
There was no communication between the two groups, though minutes from the WGTF will show that several times it was raised that there ought to be a joined-up approach between the WGTF and the FWLG because the environmental and animal welfare outcomes are tightly entwined and in some cases, conflict with each other.
For example, the WGTF was concerned the FWLG would recommend for regulation of practices that were detrimental to animal welfare (e.g. back fencing and top down grazing).
The FW Regulations are the winter grazing regulations about which the freshwater and environmental advocates (eg Mike Joy; Marnie Prickett; Greenpeace ) have repeatedly expressed concern, given they considered the regulations were initially too weak and secondly they have been delayed and modified.
Grass and bale (G&B) wintering has increased in use and is not captured by the FW Regulations relating to winter grazing.
a. G&B can provide 30tonnes/hectare of dry matter – this is equivalent to a good fodder beet crop, meaning stocking rate and grazing plan is the same (small area needed/break = pugging/mud/run off etc)
b. Outcomes on G&B can be as bad as a traditional winter crop (kale, fodder beet, turnips, swedes etc) (see appendix).
National has proposed a roll back on the FW Regulations that include the only regulations relating to winter grazing (environment focused, not animal welfare).
