Govt cracks down on animal moving rules

WELLINGTON: The penalties for farmers who fail to comply with rules around the proper movement of animals will increase 10fold, in response to the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.

In a proposed law change, the Government will crack down on farmers who do not properly adhere to the National Animal Identification and Tracing (Nait) scheme.

Nait records the location and movement of animals.

Under the new rules, not complying with Nait could cost an individual up to $100,000 and a body corporate up to $200,000.

The previous penalty regime meant fines were capped at $10,000 and $20,000 respectively.

The changes have been proposed to improve the Nait scheme which a review last year found was ‘‘significantly flawed’’.

Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor yesterday unveiled a range of proposals which would ‘‘create the animal tracing scheme New Zealand needs to keep our primary sectors and economy safe’’.

As well as the new increased penalties, the Government also proposed a tightening of the rules for handling untagged animals and an improvement of the use of data.

‘‘I have heard the calls from industry for common sense changes to make Nait an effective business and biosecurity tool,’’ Mr O’Connor said.

Last year, the Government earmarked $890 million towards eradicating the cow disease Mycoplasma bovis, which had been detected in New Zealand the year before.

A summary, by a technical advisory group which was overseeing the Government’s response to M. bovis, said there was a low level of farmer compliance when it came to Nait before the outbreak.

Mr O’Connor said yesterday Nait compliance has improved in recent months.