increase font size
A Waitomo farmer has been fined for docking the tails of cows.
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.
Rawhiti Environmental Park Limited has been convicted on eight charges and fined a total of $437,000 for persistent discharges of raw piggery effluent into the environment between February and October 2023.
The head of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) biosecurity operation, Stuart Anderson, has defended the cost and the need for a Plant Healht and Environment Laboratory (PHEL) being built in Auckland.
Relationships are key to opening new trading opportunities and dealing with some of the rules that countries impose that impede the free flow of trade.
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.
OPINION: Ministry for Primary Industries' situation outlook for primary industries report (SOPI) makes impressive reading.
Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
OPINION: Dipping global dairy prices have already resulted in Irish farmers facing a price cut from processors.
OPINION: Are the heydays of soaring global demand for butter over?
