fbpx
Print this page
Tuesday, 13 August 2019 10:55

Yet another committee

Written by 
Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is setting up a ‘taskforce’ on the animal welfare issues of winter grazing.

“Images of cows up to their knees in mud, unable to lie down and rest and calving in these conditions is unacceptable to me and I’ve heard loud and clear from the public that it’s unacceptable to them too,” O’Connor says.

“Winter crop grazing is necessary in some regions to provide enough feed for stock at a time when there’s not a lot of pasture. Done well, it provides animals with quality feed to keep them warm over winter. 

“Done badly it means cattle can be knee deep in mud which gives rise to completely justifiable concerns for their welfare. Winter grazing also has an environmental impact and the Government is working on ways to address that too.”

Some farmers are falling well below acceptable winter grazing practice, he says. 

“Unfortunately, it’s another situation of a small number of farmers letting the side down and bringing everyone into disrepute.”

O’Connor says MPI’s animal welfare unit has stepped up its compliance activity and is watching. 

 “I am bringing together a taskforce of vets, industry leaders and officials to identify the issues and bring me some solutions.”

The group will first meet “in the next few weeks” and will report to the minister on first steps by the end of the month.

More like this

PETA wants web cams in shearing sheds

Animal rights protest group PETA is calling for Agriculture Minister Todd McClay to introduce legislation which would make it mandatory to have live-streaming web cameras in all New Zealand shearing shed.

Painting the cow red

OPINION: How do you get people to stop drinking milk and switch to foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains?

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.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

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.

NZ household food waste falls again

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.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…