Money better spent elsewhere

We already have the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the regulations have just been redone, he says. 

Anderson was commenting on the Framework for Action on Animal Welfare, released in late June by Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri. Its proposals include appointing a commissioner for animals and a cross-party animal welfare working group in Parliament.

“We are concerned that this may well be a knee-jerk reaction to the recent case [in Northland],” Anderson told Rural News.

Animal welfare issues tend to go hand-in-hand with human issues. 

“So it is important to find out first what is happening in those places [where abuse has occurred] before we get carried away with proposals for, for example, putting cameras in buildings that house animals or in dairy sheds.

“We are not a police state; we want to be wary of some of these suggestions.”

He acknowledges that cameras are not in the proposed framework but they have been discussed by Safe and Farmwatch.

In a recently highlighted case, the behaviour was illegal under the current rules anyway and certainly not acceptable. 

“I don’t see what further regulation would do to pick people like that up.” Farmers treat their animals well with the odd exception. 

“We are a bit nervous about some statements made by people who have put themselves up as animal welfare crusaders. With most of those outfits, their stated aim is to remove farmed animals out of our farming systems. 

“I question whether their motives are animal welfare related or just their philosophy.”

The odd animal welfare case highlights an issue on a particular property and is not standard behaviour.

“Current regulation already covers those issues and what will more regulation do except create more cost? The creation of an animal welfare commissioner is just another burden on the taxpayer for no real gain.

“They’d be better off spending the money on people. How about sorting our horrific statistics on the treatment of children? That is where the Government should be focussing.”

We have just redone the animal welfare regulations, he says. “A number of those regulations are either in force or will come into force in the next 12 months. 

“They are very high standards and they have to be. If animal welfare standards are high on the world stage where we are trying to sell our produce we can rightfully claim that our animals live good, full lives and are able to express their natural behaviours.

“I am not saying that our animal welfare codes don’t have to be reviewed from time to time but we have just done it.”