Weedbusters

How to fight one of NZ’S worst weeds

Homekill is the killing and processing of your farmed animals for your consumption and use.

There are rules on animal ownership, who can eat the meat, and what you can do with it. These are to protect consumers from eating meat that has a higher risk of making them sick because it’s processed outside of the regulated system. It also protects NZ’S regulated meat industry, ensuring the meat supply is safe.

The first rule of homekill

It is illegal to sell or trade homekill. This includes (but isn’t limited to) bartering, donating or raffling homekill meat products.

You might think there’s no harm in selling some extra meat from your homekill animal or recent hunting expedition.

But homekill isn’t subject to the same rigorous regulatory and food safety controls that apply to meat you buy at the supermarket or butcher.

If you’re found to be selling or trading homekill, you can be subject to significant penalties. Maximum penalties are $100,000 for an individual and up to two years’ imprisonment. For incorporated businesses, maximum penalties are even higher at $500,000.

The 28-day rule of homekill

If you want to have an animal slaughtered by a listed homekill service provider, you’ll need to have owned the animal and have been actively involved in its care and welfare for the 28 days beforehand.

As the animal’s owner, you’re also obliged to meet certain legal animal welfare requirements. They include ensuring animals are: • cared for appropriately; • transported humanely; • killed in a way that does not inflict unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress by you or the listed homekill service provider you hire.

If you hire a listed homekill service provider to slaughter your animal, they may ask to see proof of care and ownership.

You can have your animal slaughtered either on your property or at the listed homekill service provider’s.

If you are slaughtering cattle or deer, either you or the service provider must record it on the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme database. www.nait.co.nz

This ensures agencies can trace the animal quickly.

An alternative to homekill is to buy an animal and send it to a registered abattoir for killing and processing. This will ensure that the meat goes through the same rigorous regulatory processes and food safety controls as those you find at the supermarket or butcher.

Why select-and-slaughter is illegal

This is where an animal is bought from a farmer and immediately slaughtered for meat on the farmer’s property. It’s illegal to do this, both for the farmer selling the animal and for whoever buys the meat. People who do this won’t have involvement in the day-to-day management of an animal. This means they can’t make an informed decision on the fitness of the animal as food.

Who can eat homekill meat?

Homekill meat can be eaten by the animal’s owner and family members who live in the same household, including grandparents, children, and parents.

It can also be eaten by farm workers employed on the property who have been working for the owner continually, and their family or household.

You can serve it to friends who come for dinner, but you should tell them it is homekill meat.

You can share homekill or recreational catch on a marae for traditional activities within the iwi or hapu. The same rule applies to communities that meet for religious purposes or social gatherings.

It is illegal to use the meat in commercial activities where money is exchanged or bartered for anything of value.

Hospitals, prisons, schools, and other institutions cannot use homekill.

It is illegal to sell or trade homekill.

Since homekill operates outside of the regulated food safety system, no assurances can be given about its safety for consumption either by people or other animals. When serving homekill, let people know.

What are the risks of eating homekill?

Homekill meat is not subject to the same controls that apply to meat bought from the supermarket or butcher. Homekill service providers are listed but are not checked for food safety.

In homekill, there can be hygiene concerns. Health problems due to incorrectly-processed homekill meat are rare. However, there is a much higher risk than with commercially processed meat products.

Eating homekill is at your own risk. New Zealand Food Safety provides some guidelines for homekill food safety handling in A Guide to Homekill and Recreational Catch. You can find it online here: www.mpi.govt.nz/processing/meat-and-game/ homekill-hunting-game-and-wild-foods/homekill-andrecreational-catch-service-providers/