New dog-on-ute rules go a bit too far for some farmers
New animal welfare regulations promise to complicate moving sheepdogs between paddocks, and other farming practices, with the threat of a fine.
Marlborough farmer Rick Hammond’s four bearded collies travel on the back of his ute nearly every day, along public rural roads, as Hammond feeds 3000 sheep on his Awatere Valley farm.
‘‘For a farmer like me, you’ve got three or four kilometres of road frontage around the farm. I quite often use them to get around. And every day I’d have the dogs on the truck,’’ Hammond said.
He thought the Ministry for Primary Industries’ new rules went a bit far.
Dogs on the back of a truck, trailer or ute, travelling on a public road, have to be tied up with a leash or rope if not in a cage or crate. The only exception is if farm dogs are actively helping to move livestock along public roads, in which case they can jump on and off a vehicle. People caught breaking that law could be fined up to $900 from October.
Hammond said he suspected farmers across the country would be rolling their eyes. ‘‘You shouldn’t have to tie your dogs up just for a 300-metre trip to the other paddock.’’
But he understood the reasoning behind the rule, recalling several instances where dogs were injured falling from a truck, or hit by another vehicle, he said.
‘‘I had an old dog lose his balance and go one way or the other off the truck. He never quite walked the same after that.’’
Hammond said he generally approved of the new regulations, which included rules about shelter and water access for dogs, and banned tail docking.
‘‘I totally agree with it there. I think people in town aren’t always that careful with their dogs. You see people leaving their pig dogs in the vehicle while they’re at the supermarket or McDonald’s. That’s not good.’’
Many farmers had to cross public roads to get from one side of their farm to the other, barely justifying a stop to tether a dog on a truck, Federated Farmers animal welfare spokesman Miles Anderson said.
The regulations also cover stock transport and the treatment of calves, cattle, crabs and rock lobster, goats, horses, hens, llamas and alpacas, pigs and sheep. Fireworks at rodeos are banned, and several types of trap are forbidden.
Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri said they were to help animal welfare inspectors impose penalties for offences that did not necessarily warrant prosecution.
Penalties range from infringement fines, with a maximum penalty of $25,000 for commercial offenders, to a criminal conviction, depending on the severity of the harm inflicted.