MPI looks into case of thin cows

The Ministry for Primary Industries has begun an investigation after a photo was taken of thin cows being transported by truck on a Cook Strait ferry.

The cows, which were transported from Picton to Wellington on Sunday were photographed by a concerned passenger.

A ministry spokeswoman would not give details of the investigation but said it began looking into the case on Monday.

Ben Sarten took photos of the cows on the ferry to send to his friend, Chris Huriwai, an animal rights activist who then posted the images on Facebook.

Sarten said the cows attracted attention from other passengers, including tourists.

Sarten said he grew up on a dairy farm and knew what healthy cows looked like. ‘‘It’s a sad view of our dairy industry for tourists. It’s my understanding the cows were on their way to an abattoir.’’

He said with droughts expected to get worse in coming years because of climate change, the dairy industry needed to find alternatives to industrial farming.

DairyNZ would not comment on the matter but said it was supportive of the investigation as the wellbeing of cows was at the heart of New Zealand dairy farms.

Huriwai said he was ‘‘disgusted’’ to see the emaciated cows, inside what resembled ‘‘a concentration camp truck’’.

‘‘Some of the poor animals don’t even have any shade for the harrowing three-hour trip in the sun.’’