Animal welfare clock ticking on shearer border decision
An urgent decision needs to be made on letting experienced sheep shearers into the country, the industry says.
Without at least 60 shearers to work the summer season, sheep will become vulnerable to heat stroke and such serious health concerns as fly strike, Federated Farmers meat and wool chair William Beetham said.
Fly strike is a serious disease that results from flies laying eggs around the daggy areas of the fleece. Once they hatch, maggots can bury into the flesh as a food source. Sheep that have long unshorn fleeces are most at risk.
‘‘Shearing largely plays an animal welfare role for the common strong wool breeds,’’ Beetham said.
‘‘It is important to all New Zealanders the Government considers animal welfare in its border control decision-making. Farmers need this shearing capacity to ensure the welfare of their animals.’’
As the weather heated up, the urgency increased, he said.
Federated Farmers had been sounding the alarm since late winter.
Sixty international workers were ‘‘ready to go’’ in the United Kingdom but needed the green light from Government.
The New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association had initially applied for 200 shearers to fill gaps in the local workforce, but that had been scaled back to 60.
They could shear 90,000 to 100,000 ewes a week, but this was still a long way short of the work required.
Stuff understands Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor are working on a solution but whether that would happen before Christmas remained uncertain.
Beetham said shearing began in December, and the peak was in January and February.
Given the lengthy process involved in visa approvals and managed isolation, the industry was keen to get Government approval as soon as possible. Getting New Zealanders trained to do the job wasn’t something that could be done in the short-term, he said.
‘‘We’re very keen to have them begin working in January to help manage the issue.’’
Last week it was reported that dispensations for rural contractors to drive heavy farm machinery were not able to be fully taken up because there was no room in managed isolation and quarantine facilities until mid-February.
Rural Contractors New Zealand said unless more facilities were made available urgently, only one-third of rural contractors approved by the Cabinet would make it into New Zealand, and harvest was already under way.
In the case of shearing, the season would be over by the end of February.
‘‘We understand that it is very difficult to manage this issue but we have been asking and talking about shearers for a long time,’’ Beetham said.
Places like Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Central Plateau were particularly exposed to fly strike, especially if conditions were hot and wet.
Southland sheep farmer Richard Greer said while he had enough contractors to shear his flock, he knew of other farmers who were reliant on workers from the UK.
New Zealand shearers who couldn’t get across the Tasman to work the Australian season might provide some relief locally, he said.
The animal welfare aspect was ‘‘a major issue’’, he said.
‘‘In the middle of summer you don’t want animals with 12-plus months of wool on them, because of heat exhaustion. It’s not good animal welfare practice,’’ he said.
And without intervention, fly strike could kill, he said.