Live cattle head for China

A ship carrying 3700 live cattle for China departed the Port of Timaru yesterday.

The Gloucester Express is carrying a mixture of dairy heifers and pure-bred angus breeding cattle, according to Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

An MPI spokesman has said that exporters are required to meet stringent animal welfare standards prior to, and during, a voyage.

‘‘Our requirements are designed to prioritise the animals’ health and welfare during their journey and ensure they are handled in accordance with New Zealand’s strict animal welfare standards,’’ the spokesman said.

According to Austrex, the Australiabased firm in charge of arranging the shipment, there will be two stockmen ‘‘engaged in looking after every need of the livestock and ensuring optimum health and welfare of the animals’’.

Austrex spokesman Tom Slaughter said the loading operation in Timaru was successful, and there were no issues at all.

‘‘Everything went without a hitch,’’ Slaughter said.

This was the largest single live cattle shipment to leave the Timaru Port since July 2017, when the Ocean Drover carried 6600 dairy cows to Fonterra farms in China.

The cattle were sourced from around the country and Austrex estimates the free on board value to be about $6 million.

In 2017, New Zealand exported about 27,000 live cattle in 10 shipments, mainly to China, but also Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam.

The Gloucester Express operation also caught the attention of animal welfare activist group Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) and global animal welfare organisation World Animal Protection.

Safe has called for the banning of all exports of live animals from New Zealand while WAP was out to remind the Government and the public of New Zealand, ‘‘that the battle to end this cruel practice is not over’’.

WAP opposes the live export of animals because of what it claims is the degree of suffering involved, the lack of control over the fate of the animals on arrival and the fact that many of the countries NZ exports to have standards that fall well below what’s acceptable in New Zealand.

‘‘Only days ago, the NZ production sector was celebrating the passing of the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Act, citing that consumers need to know where imported meat products come from due to the lack of welfare standards in ex-NZ countries of origin,’’ WAP campaign adviser Christine Rose said.

‘‘Publicly acknowledging systemic animal cruelty in non-NZ countries, yet still shipping our animals offshore to be held and then slaughtered in unacceptable conditions is abhorrent.

‘‘The value to the New Zealand economy of live export animal shipments is minimal, and disproportionate to the suffering caused. There are also reputational costs to the New Zealand Government which can be seen to condone exporting animal ill-treatment offshore where animal welfare standards are low.

‘‘Live animal shipments undermine our own national standards, and public expectations, especially for those who voted for the coalition parties considering their animal welfare promises.’’