March 5, 2013

 

 

Despite contradictions from the animal welfare advocates, New Zealand's livestock exporters say mortality rates of 0.2% for live dairy cattle exports prove it is a safe practice.

 

Ministry for Primary Industry figures reveal that between 2009 and last year, 68,248 cattle were shipped to China - roughly equivalent to 90 South Canterbury dairy herds. During that time, 137 deaths were recorded or 0.2%: 98 of those deaths were from a single mishap in 2011, when a ship's desalination plant failed.

 

The Herald sought the information after last month's shipment from Timaru of a record 7,100 dairy heifers on the livestock carrier Dareen. Deaths from that shipment were not included because of "commercial sensitivities".

 

South Island Dairy Farmers director Paul Brown said the figures confirmed that exporting live cattle to China was safe.

 

"The selection criteria and protocols are really tight. People need to get into the real world."

 

Each heifer shipped could have a value from US$1,500-1,800 in the Chinese market, Brown said. "It's definitely worth it for farmers, it's about 40% ahead of what you would get in the domestic market.

 

"From New Zealand's point of view, the more we associate with the Chinese market, the more we will be able to break into it," he said. Yet Green Party MP Mojo Mathers said the death numbers demonstrated that the risks were "very real".

 

"Even when such horrific incidents do not happen, the Government allows tens of thousands of animals to suffer every year by being shipped alive. We can sell our good stock to other countries through exporting genetic material, we should not be sending the animals themselves."

 

Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) executive director Hans Kriek said the figures did not tell the whole story. "It does not show how many animals will end up in factory farms. We do not know whether these animals will be treated well once their commercial value ceases," he said.

 

Livestock company director Peter Walsh helped procure the cattle for the Dareen's recent shipment for Landmark Global Exports, which brokered the sale to China. He said the Chinese market was very particular about the cattle it bought.

 

"In New Zealand, dairy cows are valued for their ability to produce kilogrammes of milk solids, but in China, it's the number of litres of milk a cow can produce," he said. "The cows are too valuable for them to treat poorly."

 

A ministry spokesman said that during the Dareen's voyage there were five experienced and approved stock people on board, a communications plan to contact a veterinarian for advice if required, and supplies for veterinary treatment.

 

He said the ministry's legal obligations ceased when the ship disembarked, but China was a partner of the World Organisation for Animal Health, which had "very strong" requirements.