MPI job cuts 'won't disrupt organisational structure'
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
A Waitomo farmer has been fined $21,739, including veterinarian expenses and costs, for docking the tails of cows.
Peter Anthony William Muller, 65, was sentenced in the Te Kuiti District Court on one charge under the Animal Welfare Act, following a prosecution taken by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
MPI national manager animal welfare & NAIT compliance, Gray Harrison, says Muller deliberately ill-treated the cows by systematically docking their tails, causing unnecessary and unreasonable pain.
“In NZ, docking is prohibited as the tail is a very important and sensitive part of the cow’s body. It’s used to control flies, but it is also used in social signalling and interactions.”
The prosecution relates to an inspection of Muller’s Waitomo dairy farm on 15 December 2020. Animal welfare inspectors were assisted by a veterinarian.
Of 592 cows inspected they found 534 that had parts of their tails (from above the last 2 to 3 vertebrae) removed by Muller.
Farmers are throwing down the gauntlet to politicians - hold an independent inquiry into rural bank lending or face tough questions from the farming sector.
China’s Ambassador Wang Xiaolong says bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and New Zealand has made significant and rapid progress.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.