Source: Radio New Zealand
PETA says video footage captured on New Zealand farms exposes the cruelty involved in sheep shearing. Supplied / PETA Asia
Animal rights advocates are calling for cameras in shearing sheds, saying “welfare training” for shearers is not enough to stop sheep being mistreated.
The government and the industry have this week announced a joint $75,000 fund to support this training.
It is in response to a damning exposé last year by PETA, which released covert footage of sheep being punched and kicked, and triggered an ongoing investigation by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
However, the SPCA’s chief scientific officer, Dr Arnja Dale, said she would be “really disappointed” if this were the only outcome.
SPCA chief science advisor Arnja Dale. Supplied / SPCA
“It’s been more than a year since that exposé. More training is absolutely needed, it’s a good start, but these are not new issues.”
The PETA investigation had attracted international attention and obviously embarrassed the government and the wool industry, she said.
“But if they really cared about animal welfare, they would have addressed these issues with shearing years ago.”
MPI’s own Verification Services had expressed concern about the number of animals arriving at freezing works with fresh and unhealed shearing cuts and injuries, Dale said.
The ministry’s evaluation report following public consultation on the new Code of Welfare for Sheep and Beef Cattle last year also noted NZ Shearing Contractors had reported an increase in cuts and injuries “over time”.
The government had yet to sign off on the new code, which would require farmers to identify and treat sheep with shearing cuts or injuries.
The SPCA would support camera surveillance in both shearing sheds and slaughter houses, Dale said.
“There is no record of how many cuts and significant injuries result in animals being euthanised. There’s no central repository of this information, so we don’t know the full extent of the problem.
“But it would also be great to have shearers being accredited and have compulsory training before they start and checks and balances as they go through their career.”
Part of the problem was that shearers were rewarded for speed and “through put”, she said.
“Some shearers and some farms are putting animal welfare first and putting the emphasis on keeping animals calm.
“We hope that we see not only more time and more care being taken, but also pain relief should be used routinely for all cuts and injuries, and inspection by vets of any injuries or wounds of a significant nature.”
PETA spokesperson Jason Baker said when animals were treated as economic commodities, “welfare loses out to economics every time”.
“A year on from our case, there is still not a single live feed coming from a single shed, because the industry would never dare show the world that shearing is anything but ‘just a haircut’.
“Regardless of what PR moves the industry or government throws up, there is no such thing as humane wool. Anyone who cares about sheep doesn’t wear wool.”
Government won’t fund cameras
Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard. RNZ / Kim Baker-Wilson
However, both the government and the shearing industry have rejected video surveillance as “unnecessary and intrusive”.
Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard said New Zealand did not “spy” on its own citizens.
Furthermore, there would be major technical hurdles to such a scheme, he said.
“Connectivity is a massive challenge for a lot of farms. The key thing here is making sure people are aware of their responsibilities and rules, and that’s the best way of encouraging good behaviour.”
The training programme would help reinforce New Zealand’s reputation for high animal welfare standards, he said.
Industry has ‘nothing to hide’, say shearers
New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association chief executive Phil Holden. Photosport
The New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association chief executive, Phil Holden, said if farmers wanted to place cameras in shearing sheds, that was up to them.
“It’s more about the practical implications of it: who funds them? Who sees the footage? What happens to the footage? All those privacy issues. It’s not as simple as just sticking a camera up. So it’s a rather naive response to what’s a more complicated issue.”
Some companies were trialling the use of cameras in sheds and properties, he said.
“The reality is we’ve got nothing to hide. The industry is in a real solid place and this animal welfare initiative is another step on the journey.
“It’s not something new, it’s been running over the course of the year. We’ve been able to secure another source of funding to just take it to the next level.”
Holden said he was not aware of any increase in shearing injuries to sheep.
Speed was not incompatible with animal welfare in his view: the main focus of the training was keeping the sheep “calm”.
“As long as the animal is calm then it can be shorn fast. I don’t think speed is the issue. It’s about making sure the animal is calm and in a state ready to be shorn and it’s done appropriately by a skilled person.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
