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.
The code of welfare for dairy cattle has been amended to address behavioural needs and off-paddock systems, says the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC).
The new standards will take effect on October 31.
NAWAC chair Dr Gwyneth Verkerk says the amendment sets out new standards to ensure people working with dairy cattle meet their animals’ behavioural needs and adopt high levels of care when keeping dairy cattle in off-paddock facilities, including feed-pads, stand-off pads, wintering pads, and loose-housed and free-stall barns.
“It is very important that dairy cattle can lie down and rest in all management systems, including on pasture, on crops, and in off-paddock facilities,” Verkerk said.
“Dairy cattle like to lie down where it is comfortable and dry. They refuse to lie down on hard, wet or muddy ground and can become stressed as a result.”
She says keeping cows off paddock, especially in the long term, can present risks to animal welfare and the new standards address this.
Dairy cattle kept in off-paddock facilities beyond three days must now be provided with a well-drained lying area with a compressible soft surface or bedding and shelter. NAWAC also wants dairy cattle which are housed long-term to have access to outdoors, but says affected farmers should be given time to comply.
“The Minister of Agriculture has agreed to delayed provisions for outdoor access and his officials will be working with us to determine how to implement these,” Verkerk said.
She says the change is aimed at encouraging people responsible for the welfare of dairy cattle to adopt the highest standards of husbandry, care and handling.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
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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