Bay dairy farmers are being encouraged to attend an animal welfare workshop ahead of tougher laws expected to be introduced by the Government this year.
The Animal Welfare Bill, put forward by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy was up for its third reading and planned to strengthen the protection of animals.
At the time of its conception, Mr Guy said New Zealand prided itself on high standards of animal welfare, and "even isolated cases of poor animal welfare can have a negative impact on our reputation as a responsible agricultural producer".
On June 13, 2014 the ministry banned the use of blunt force trauma to kill calves and recommended they were euthanised by the use of a captive bolt, a firearm or a vet-administered lethal injection.
Dairy NZ Animal welfare team leader Chris Leach said more than 800 managers attended 20 workshops last year to discuss that topic and it was being proactive to inform farmers early on developments.
"It's an easy way for farmers to bring themselves up to speed.
"The workshops will help farmers clearly understand what the rules are, what farmers can do to comply and provide some practical instruction to train staff on their farms," he said.
"We had a change to the animal welfare code last year and other proposed changes to the Animal Welfare Act are going through parliament right now and are expected to come into force later this year. These latest changes are likely to give the Ministry for Primary Industries greater powers to issue infringement notices and fines."
The workshops would cover the options for managing tails and the euthanasia of calves, ensuring cattle were fit for transport and the tools and strategies to help train farm employees in good welfare practices, he said.
"Our industry is committed to farming to high standards of animal health, welfare and well-being and most farmers take their responsibilities very seriously," he said.
A Ministry for Primary Industries spokesperson said attitudes about animal welfare were evolving and standards were needed to keep pace.
"It will allow for the creation of directly enforceable regulations. "The bill proposes a new enforcement tool called a 'compliance notice', which will allow inspectors to intervene early for low- to mid-level offending."
"The tool will give animal welfare inspectors the authority to require a person to stop doing something that, in their opinion, breaches animal welfare law."
A new tiered enforcement scheme meant animal welfare inspectors could address all offending against animals at an appropriate level.