Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
The Government's recent announcement that they will grant another 50 vets entry to New Zealand will not meet the country’s needs, says one recruitment expert.
On 9 June, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced border class exceptions would be granted to 50 experienced vets.
Julie South, talent acquisition consultant with VetStaff, says that while the announcement is a good start, she is uncertain how it will alleviate the shortfall, because all veterinary sectors are currently at critical levels.
“Right now, no one seems to know where these 50 vets will be allocated. It could be a lolly scramble with the various sectors fighting to get what they need,” South told Rural News.
She estimates that a further 50 to 75 vets are needed to fill the shortage once the vets already allocated exemptions are in New Zealand.
“However, they need to be the right kind of vets willing to go to where the vacancies are.”
She says New Zealand requires experienced dairy, production and companion animal veterinarians.
Another concern is whether the vets entering the country are able to fill vacancies in certain areas of the country and understand what New Zealand is like as a country.
“We need to make sure we’re letting in the right vets for the right vacancies in the right locations.”
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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