Booming live cattle trade to China drives MAF review

A huge surge in Chinese purchases of dairy cows - with nearly $3 million worth of them being shipped out - has triggered changes to welfare standards for the export of live cattle by sea.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) manager of animal welfare programmes, Wayne Ricketts, said New Zealand had been sending about 10,000 cattle a year overseas.

But in the past few months, "This has increased markedly with approximately 30,000 cattle being exported to China for breeding and milk production", he said.

MAF has had a standard since the mid-1990s, but 90 dairy cows being transported to Mexico in July 2003 died, with a further 20 having to be humanely destroyed after arrival.

MAF concluded that the deaths were the direct result of bad weather that struck the shipment of 720 cattle soon after leaving Napier and continued for the whole voyage.

Dr Ricketts said the storm conditions experienced by the 2003 shipment were extraordinarily bad.

The June 2003 shipment was inspected before departure and complied with MAF recommendations that the vessel be light-loaded by 10 per cent, and that it be accompanied by an experienced New Zealand stockman. A Mexican Government veterinarian was also on board.

An earlier shipment of 1100 cows arrived in Mexico without problems.

Since stock agents began buying huge numbers of dairy cattle in New Zealand for shipment to China, MAF has been working to update welfare standards.

It now requires the shipper to provide a report detailing number and reasons for any deaths during the voyage to MAF within 10 working days of the voyage end. Failure to comply will result in future shipments not being able to depart.

Where there is evidence that the welfare of the cattle on a previous shipment was not properly attended to, the Director-General of Agriculture, Murray Sherwin, may require an exporter to have a veterinarian accompany the next consignment.

A full veterinary kit has to be carried on board.

In New South Wales, a University of New England conference has been told why there were high fatality rates on cattle export voyages from America to the Middle East.

Although shippers blamed the transition from a cold to a hot climate, scientists said that did not explain why up to 900 cows were dying during a three-week voyage. Research had shown the cows were dying because they were being gassed by their own flatulence.

The high protein diets fed to American cows on long voyages were causing the cows to produce high levels of ammonia and methane gas.

CATTLE EXPORTS

* Live cattle exports have increased because of a jump in demand from China for dairy cows.

* MAF officials have been working with exporters updating animal welfare standards

* New measures include the presence of an experienced stockman on board cattle ships.

- NZPA