DairyNZ standing in farmers’ boot on welfare rules

Dr Nita Harding, DairyNZ's technical veterinarian advisor, says they are consulting widely within the dairy industry, with MPI and other stakeholders to get a good perspective on what impact the proposed regulations will have on the dairy sector.

Their talks with Federated Farmers and the Dairy Companies Association will ensure these groups know DairyNZ's views and that DairyNZ is aware of their position, she says.

"We are looking at what the impact will be on on levy paying dairy farmers and making sure we've assessed that, and that the regulations won't have significant negative impacts on farmers. In saying that, many of the proposed regulations are actually current minimum standards so a lot of them will not [enforce] any change for farmers who are meeting the minimum standards at the moment."

But Harding says some proposed changes need to be looked at. Some may require changes onfarm while others are more for mitigation. Some proposed changes would affect surgical practices and the use of pain relief for dehorning or de-budding cattle; clarity is needed as to whether only a veterinarian may do this.

The way bobby calves must be treated is also new and DairyNZ is keen to ensure regulation wording covers all the issues.

Tail twisting is another issue on which a new regulation would bring an infringement penalty.

"It is quite common to lift the tail of a beast to encourage it to move forward, but if you do that excessively or twist the tail you can damage it and we have had a couple of prosecutions over the years where large numbers of animals have had their tails broken. The proposed regulation is there and we're just thinking about how to interpret that
on farm."

Harding says by and large the regulations will improve animal welfare onfarm. DairyNZ is committed to making sure animals in the industry are well looked after and managed; no cruel or illegal practices will be condoned.

Dealing with bobby calves

What may change under the proposed regulations:

The time between last feed and slaughter of young calves would be reduced from 30 to 24 hours

Adequate shelter required for young calves

Shorter maximum truck journey times for young calves

A ban on shipping animals across Cook Strait

Young calves must be fit enough for transport, eg at least four days old, with dry navels and hard hooves

Young calves must be handled properly.

Following consultation, some regulations may be imposed for the 2016 calving season. But for practical reasons some changes may need to be transitioned over time.