WELLINGTON: More than 5000 New Zealand dairy cows are due to be shipped to China by a Saudi businessman, amid complaints from an animal welfare group and opposition politicians.
But livestock agent Peter Walsh, who has not arranged the shipment, said dairy cows shipped to China and other overseas markets were too valuable to be treated badly. Saudi businessman Hmood Alali Al-Khalaf has applied to ship more than 5000 dairy cows to China from Napier, where he has a farm.
‘ That’s how NZ First leader Winston Peters is describing a decision to ship more than 5,000 dairy cows to China. Critics of the move want assurances the animals will be treated humanely. The Saudi multi-millionaire has been at the centre of a row over the creation of a New Zealand Government-funded agricultural hub in the Middle East.
From 1989 until 2003, Al-Khalaf exported about 5 million live sheep for slaughter into the Middle East from New Zealand, until the practice was stopped after 4000 sheep died aboard the Cormo Express.
Because of that incident, the Government banned exporting live sheep for slaughter. Animal welfare groups oppose the cattle shipments because of the inhumane way in which they are slaughtered once their useful life is over.
NZ First leader Winston Peters said it was short-term thinking to send New Zealand animal genetics overseas. Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) records dated back nine years show 300,915 cattle have been exported to countries including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mexico, and Peru.
The mortality rate on the ships has been 0.12 per cent over the nine years. Deaths have been in single figures on most shipments, except in 2011 when 98 cattle died because of the failure of a desalination plant.
In 2014, 58 cattle were euthanased from a shipment “as they did not meet the importing country’s [China] requirements”, MPI said. Walsh said the cattle could be used only for breeding, not slaughter. He had just been to Mexico to inspect some of the 45,000 ewe hoggets sent there in 2015.
“They’re breeding from them, they’re looking bloody good, everybody’s happy. We visited 10 properties and they said they’d like to get some more.”
He agreed with Peters that New Zealand had excellent genetics, but disagreed about the folly of selling them overseas.
“We don’t lose anything by selling those genetics. For example, when we sent the sheep to Mexico, New Zealand farmers received $135 a head, and at that time export companies were paying only $85 for the same sheep,” Walsh said. Labour Primary Industries spokesman Damien O’Connor said because of Al-Khalaf’s record with sheep deaths, “we need clarity and assurance” around the exports.
“We are not sure where the stock are going. We have to question the wisdom of ongoing investment in places like China when Fonterra continues to lose money hand over fist in their farming operations.
“The shipments also highlight the absence of a strategic approach to our agricultural sector. Questions need to be asked over whether they are in New Zealand’s long term interests,” O’Connor said. RNZ reported the Ministry for Primary Industries has received an export application for 5300 dairy breeding cattle, however an export certificate had not yet been issued.
Al-Khalaf owned the livestock carrier that was heading to New Zealand to ship the cows. RNZ reported the ship was due to dock in Napier in a few days. Cabinet papers revealed the Saudi businessman had wanted to sue the Government for $20 to $30 million in compensation due to being thwarted from exporting live sheep for slaughter.
Al-Khalaf had invested heavily in a New Zealand farm and believed himself out of pocket for tens of millions of dollars as a result of the 2003 ban.
