The Labour Government received plaudits this week for its historic announcement that it will ban the live export of animals by sea. It’s said to be a world first. The decision comes after years of pressure, which increased after last year’s tragedy when the ship Gulf Livestock 1 left New Zealand, and sunk in a storm killing nearly 6000 cows and 41 sea crew. Of course, there has also been opposition to the ban, and important questions raised over some of the details.

The ban was announced on Wednesday by Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture and Minister for Trade and Export Growth. It will mean that no animals can be shipped from New Zealand by sea from 2023 (at the latest) – see Jason Walls’ Live animal exports: NZ Government confirms ban from 2023. O’Connor explained: “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare”.

In this article, the move was celebrated by animal welfare advocatres. For example, World Animal Protection NZ labelled it “a significant moment in our history for animals”. And former head of Animal Welfare for the Ministry of Primary Industries, Dr John Hellstrom, is quoted saying “It’s a trade whose time has come, it’s a trade we should have got out of years ago.”

The issue has been covered well by TVNZ, and the 1News report, Citing animal welfare concerns, Government confirms it will end live exports, covers some of the events leading up to the ban.

This article explains that there was already a Government review taking place, but a major influence on the ban decision was the sinking of Gulf Livestock 1: “Following that, the Government temporarily banned exports of live cattle, but allowed them to resume late last year with promises of improvements to the process. Now they’ve changed their minds again, with plans to scrap the trade completely. O’Connor said today many of the recommendations from a 2019 review of the trade had been introduced. But there were still growing calls for the ban.”

Praise for the ban

The must-read piece on the exporting ban is a Stuff newspaper editorial in favour of the decision – see: The tide goes out on animal exports. The newspaper argues this issue is an ethical one for the country, pointing out that former Minister of Agriculture, Jim Anderton, had rightly invoked philosopher Immanuel Kant’s words on the subject: “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”

Furthermore, the editorial points to the related pragmatic angle: “As well as being a moral issue in a world more concerned than ever with ethics, animal welfare is now a reputational issue. New Zealand does not want to be associated in international markets with the mass death of animals at sea or under poor conditions overseas, no matter how statistically rare such deaths may be.”

The editorial also argues the decision closes a “loophole” in the current law, because a ban was brought in on shipping sheep for the purposes of slaughter in another country in 2003, and was extended to cattle in 2007, and “Yet a loophole remained in which animals continued to be exported for breeding.”

Science reporter Mirjam Guesgen points out in her explainer article on the ban that New Zealand will be “the first country in the world to introduce a comprehensive ban on live animal exports by sea” – see: Live animal exports have always been a problem.

She writes that “There are good reasons behind the decision”, drawing attention to the fact that deaths and mistreatment of animals on the voyages have been poorly reported, despite being required by existing government rules. What’s more, she points out that the animals suffer all sorts of atrocities on the sea voyages, which are not just extreme physical degradations, but emotional/mental ones too. Guesgen argues that the better way forward for agricultural industries is the export of semen and embryos.

Growing pressure for a ban

Pressure on the Labour Government to ban live exports has been building for years, with a number of articles making a very strong case.

One of the best pieces, was an RNZ investigation that was broadcast in September last year, which asked: Why do we still ship livestock overseas?. Former MAF chief veterinary officer John Hellstrom called the trade “scurrilous”, and explained that there are two big areas of concern with the practice: “he says the issue with live exports is as much about what happens to the animals when they get to their destination, as about conditions on board ships.

So, while many opinion pieces focus on the atrocious conditions that the animals have to endure en route, an area of growing concern and awareness is the unacceptable suffering and conditions in the destination countries. The above article reports: “New Zealand stopped sending sheep and goats overseas, partly because of the appalling conditions in some abattoirs and backyard slaughterhouses. But Hellstrom says conditions in many factory dairy farms in China and elsewhere are also harming our cows.”

Hellstrom is quoted: “The illusion is maintained that it is ethically, and from a welfare point of view okay, to send animals for breeding because they were going to a destination where they would live a long and happy life being a dairy cow and producing calves and milk… The reality is they are mainly going to large feedlot operations, where there is high mortality and poor fertility.”

New Plymouth district councillor Anneka Carlson wrote an opinion piece in March arguing Why live exports need to be banned. She challenged the industry to refute accounts of extreme conditions faced by the exported animals: “If the above is not correct, then the industry should show the New Zealand public what it is like; have it verified by an independent party, and let’s see footage of the conditions on these ships, the farms overseas and how these animals are handled.”

In April the SPCA came out with a call for a ban, raising many question about how the industry functions – see 1News’ ‘We have blood on our hands’ — SPCA calls for total ban on exports of live farmed animals. The organisation’s chief scientific officer, Arnja Dale, is quoted as saying “Quite simply, we have blood on our hands. Cabinet has a responsibility to show that animal welfare is indeed important to our country.”

It wasn’t only animal rights activists and liberals arguing for a ban. For instance, columnist Mike Yardley wrote late last year that, although he’s hardly “a rabid animal rights campaigner”, he found the live animal trade “odious” and “beyond indecent” – see: We need to move now on live exports. He argued the whole industry was ultimately bad for the agricultural sector.

A farmer who has previously sent his stock overseas also spoke out last year, after having a change of heart about the practice. Taranaki farmer Brett Sanger was interviewed by Farah Hancock, and said “You start seeing some fairly appalling images of what’s happened on other ships and on reflection you think, do I really want to be doing this?” – see: A case against exporting live animals.

Is the ban about the voyage or the destination?

In explaining their decision, the Government has strongly played down concerns over what happens to New Zealand’s animals when they have arrived in their new countries.

For example, the Prime Minister is reported as saying the reason for the ban “is not about the destination at all, and is completely neutral of that” – see Newstalk ZB’s Jacinda Ardern defends ban on live animal exports by sea. Ardern stated: “For us, it’s about whether the act itself – and it is very much the act itself rather than the destination or what happens to the livestock upon arrival.”

Similarly, the Minister of Agriculture went out of his way to specify the ban being about the voyage and not anything to do with conditions in the destination countries. 1News reported him saying “There remains an ongoing level of concern with the welfare of these animals while being at sea for up to three weeks… The fact is that once animals leave New Zealand by sea, we have very limited ability to ensure their wellbeing before they reach their destination.”

The Government’s has clearly been at pains to avoid offending the Chinese Government, as China is the recipient of about 94 per cent of the live exports, and that volume has recently tripled. The same article reports: “O’Connor said the decision was ‘not about China’, and Beijing would understand New Zealand’s position.”

Others have written about their concerns for the extreme conditions experienced by the animals arriving in China. According to journalist Mirjam Guesgen, China has an Animal Protection Index rating of only E (in a range of A to G).

Former MAF chief veterinary officer John Hellstrom has spoken out about conditions in China, saying in the RNZ documentary, “The way they treat bobby calves shouldn’t be mentioned in public, and they don’t have any significant welfare protocols for transport or slaughter.”

Also in Farah Hancock’s article, above, she says “China has lower animal welfare standards than New Zealand. There’s no nation-wide laws prohibiting mistreatment. Once the cows are no longer used for breeding, Chinese law encourages but doesn’t require stunning before slaughter.”

It’s not surprising, then, that the New Zealand Government has been careful in handling the China-element of the decision to introduce the ban. 1News reported that the Government gave China an early warning of the ban with an approach to the Chinese Embassy last month.

Why is the Government taking so long to implement the ban?

One of the contentious elements of the ban is the long lead-in time – up to two years. The Government has not yet said exactly when the ban will start, with the 1News item above reporting O’Connor saying that “The ban would be in place after a transition period of up to two years, with a final timeframe to be announced after further advice from the Ministry of Primary Industries”.

1News challenged the Minister about the delay, receiving an explanation that “the process to wind down the practice was ‘complex’ and the Government had to be ‘fair’ to traders and allow a transition period.” O’Connor is reported saying: “We do accept that there’s risks on every shipment that goes out. We’ve done our best to minimise those.”

But the Save Animals From Exploitation group has said that this delay is problematic, pointing out that “Hundreds of thousands of cows could be exported during that time.”

Blogger No Right Turn has added further complaint, saying it gives “farmers two full years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty” – see: Why wait?.

He says this is unnecessary as the ban can be done by changes to the current regulations rather than parliamentary legislation: “There is a consultation requirement, but that doesn’t take two years, and neither does drafting and passing a regulation. So again, why wait? It’s hard to see this as anything other than deliberate foot-dragging by a government that still wants to pander to a particularly cruel and vicious industry.”

Opposition to the ban

Not everyone is happy with the ban. The Act Party has spoken out, saying it’s a “kick in the guts” for the rural sector. Spokesperson Mark Cameron also argues “This ban won’t improve animal welfare because live exports from New Zealand will be replaced by exports from other countries with lower animal welfare standards.”

Farmers, too, have expressed their dissatisfaction, with the Animal Genetics Trade Association complaining about a loss of income for those in the sector – see Esther Taunton’s Opponents label live export ban ‘immoral, ill-informed’. Spokesperson Dave Hayman has added: “The loss of foreign income will deeply hurt New Zealand’s economy, particularly if China takes offense and threatens our Free Trade Agreement.”

This idea of a backlash is also covered by Louisa Steyl in her article, Live export ban may cause backlash from trading partners, Southland Fed Farmers boss says.

Broadcaster Mike Hosking has also picked up on the possibility of the ban causing offence to the Chinese, saying “Let’s hope in the ensuing period that the Chinese, who we are now hopelessly beholden to, don’t take umbrage and don’t see us like Australia” – see: Live export ban wrecks a growing industry. Hosking paints the ban as a general continuation of the Labour Government’s anti-business stance.

Finally, with one victory for animal welfare advocates, the focus now shifts onto another area of great concern, in which the Government has signalled its willingness to make progress – see: Government announces review into greyhound racing following welfare pleas and ‘recent incidents’.

by Dr Bryce Edwards

The Summer rodeo season is in full swing. And so protesters are, once again, drawing attention to what they regard as the cruel and archaic nature of this “entertainment sport”. This is leading to clashes between rodeo supporters and protesters.

A few days ago, the group Save Animals from Exploitation (SAFE) revealed that two animals had recently died at a rodeo in Gisborne. Rodeo organisers had already acknowledged that a bull had been killed, but a whistle-blower alerted the animal rights group to the fact that a horse had also been killed at the event – see Karoline Tuckey’s Second animal death at Gisborne rodeo ‘freakish’.

SAFE accused the rodeo of a cover-up over the death and claimed that, in general, it “highlighted a lack of transparency” in rodeos. But the president of the New Zealand Rodeo and Cowboys’ Association (NZRCA), Lyal Cocks, explained the silence over the death, saying that his organisation “has understandably become cautious [about] speaking out in an environment of extreme negativity towards rodeos, which appears to be promoted by most media organisations.”

Cocks also explained the horse’s death at the rodeo: “After it competed it went out into the yards out the back, and for some inexplicable reason it went into a post and died, it was instantaneous – it was very strange, freakish.” Similarly, when another bull died at a Martinborough rodeo last year, after breaking its leg, at the time Cocks described this as “freak accident”.

Latest rodeo protests

Tensions are rising between supporters and protesters of rodeos, with an altercation taking place a few days ago at a Whangarei event – see Esther Taunton’s Protesters ‘assaulted like the animals’ at rodeo, animal rights group says. Some of this tension revolves around animal welfare activists attending rodeos and filming events, with organisers trying to ban the use of cameras.

One of the organisers of the Northland rodeo, Dianna Bradshaw, explained: “The camera ban was due to the possibility of footage being used out of context”. She added: “These people have an agenda, they’re not coming to these events with an open mind.”

According to one of the activists, Josh Howell, “There was particular emphasis on not being able to film the roping event – the calf roping event – because they acknowledge that it’s particularly controversial… They said we don’t want you filming at all even on your phones the calf-roping because one image can be taken out of context” – see RNZ’s Rodeo protesters consider police action after supporters confront them at event.

A number of other rodeos and protests have occurred in recent weeks. For example, about 24 people from the Queenstown Animal Activist group picketed outside a Wanaka event at the start of the month, calling for an end to “legalised animal abuse” – see Michael Hayward’s About 5000 attend Wanaka Rodeo despite protests.

Call for a rodeo ban

Animal rights activists are demanding that rodeos be outlawed in New Zealand. However, this demand has already been considered by the current Government and rejected. Until she was sacked for alleged mistreatment of staff, Meka Whaitiri was the minister responsible for animal welfare (as the associate Minister of Agriculture), and she made a decision not to introduce a ban on rodeos.

The decision was announced in March of last year, with Tess Nichol reporting that “Whaitiri didn’t believe rodeos were harmful enough to justify a ban” – see: Government won’t ban rodeo, animal welfare Minister says. According to this report: “She acknowledged public concern, but said rodeos were popular in many communities. The Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Māori electorate MP grew up on the East Coast of the North Island and said rodeos were common there – she had attended several herself.”

In lieu of a ban, the minister announced that she would work to strengthen regulations, and said she had asked the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee “to fast track further advice on rodeos this year”. It’s unclear, however, if this came to anything, and after Whaitiri was dismissed as a minister the Prime Minister decided to leave the ministerial portfolio of animal welfare unfilled.

Animal welfare organisations have been unimpressed with the Government’s lack of action on rodeos. The SPCA has responded by saying that “more needs to be done” and reiterated its support for a rodeo ban. The SPCA has also reminded the Government that it promised to do more: “They need to take this very seriously and uphold their election promise, which was to ban the use of animals under 12 months, flank straps, rope burning and the use of electronic prods” – see Newshub’s Govt won’t ban rodeos but will look into improving animal welfare.

The Government and then-minister, Whaitiri, were also criticised for allowing rodeo organisers to attend a hui that was supposedly “described as solely for animal advocates” to discuss how to improve animal welfare – see Nicole Lawton’s Animal welfare meeting ends in walkout after rodeo boss attends.

This article also draws attention to corporate sponsors pulling out of involvement with rodeos: “Foodstuffs, LJ Hooker New Zealand, Saddlery Warehouse, Stuff, Meridian Energy, House of Travel, Bayleys, and Harcourts, all withdrew sponsorship in relation to the animal cruelty claims made by advocacy groups.”

There has, however, been some reform of the rules and regulations governing how rodeos treat animals. According to Michael Hayward, reporting in September, “The New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association announced four key changes to improve animal safety, which were confirmed at their recent AGM”, and he details these – see: New rodeo animal welfare rules ‘crisis management’, critics say.

Rodeo debate heating up this summer

This week Green Party MP Gareth Hughes has written an opinion piece making the moral arguments against rodeos: “Do this to a companion animal like a cat and a dog and you would be jailed. Do this on a farm and you could be investigated and prosecuted. Do it in front of a crowd at a rodeo and it is called entertainment. This summer in New Zealand, animals are being terrified, hurt and killed for fun” – see: Rodeo is animal cruelty dressed up as entertainment.

There is a growing sense of inevitability in much of the debate about rodeos being eventually consigned to history. Much of this escalation of concern started towards the end of last summer, with plenty of articles and opinion pieces forecasting a rodeo-free future. For example, the Hawkes Bay Today newspaper ran an article last February reporting on the growing activism following on from animal deaths at rodeos – see: Rodeo in the spotlight: Could Hawke’s Bay incidents be the beginning of the end?

In this, SAFE campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald is quoted saying “Year by year more and more people are speaking out strongly against rodeo. It’s really not something that New Zealand, in 2018, wants. It’s something that really needs to be consigned to the history books.” She adds: “Rodeos are banned in the UK, the Netherlands and parts of Australia, the United States and Canada. It’s time for New Zealand to make a change.”

In contrast, however, the Rodeo Association’s Lyal Cocks points out: “Judging by the increased crowd sizes this season… there are many more people who would like to see rodeo continue as a sport in NZ than those who would like it banned.”

In fact, the Rodeo Association estimates that about 100,000 people attended events last summer. And the sport has been fighting back against bad publicity, even employing former MP Michael Laws as a spokesperson, and getting Government MPs and ministers along to events – last February New Zealand First MPs Ron Mark and Mark Patterson were special guests at rodeo events.

This escalating ideological battle was well covered last year by Philip Matthews in his feature article, Cowboys and injuries: The end of rodeo? In this, he points to changing societal attitudes to the use of animals in sport, and cites survey evidence: “a Horizon Research survey commissioned by Safe and the SPCA found that 59 per cent of people wanted an end to animals in rodeo, 63 per cent wanted calf roping banned and 66 per cent wanted an end to use of flank straps, which cause animals to buck.”

Last year, newspaper editorials also weighed in on the issue – with the Dominion Post asking “Is this really how we want to have fun in a supposedly civilised country in the 21st century?” – see: Rodeos pitting humans against animals belong in the past. In contrast, the Otago Daily Times sat on the fence on the issue, pointing out the right to protest and right to participate in rodeos, and emphasising that both sides need to acknowledge the rights and concerns of the others – see: The rights of rodeos and animals.

For an indication of the turning tide on rodeos, it’s well worth reading Rachel Stewart’s mea culpa on the sport, in which she declares that “As a kid, I rode steers at my rural district sport’s day” but “we all know in our hearts that rodeo is wrong” – see: Rodeo doomed to bite the dust.

Stewart concludes: “Rodeo is on the way out. It’s on the wrong side of history, and the likes of Michael Laws won’t save it. In fact, unwittingly, he’s likely the best thing to happen to the anti-rodeo movement. Because “the truth of the matter is” that rodeo is toast. Yee-ha!”

Similarly, another columnist from the provinces, Tom O’Connor, says “In my brash youth I rode bulls at various rodeos around the country” but “I have come to question the attitude of my youth” – see: All the fun of the rodeo not worth any animal’s pain. He concludes “Like bull fighting, rodeos belong to history, as enjoyable as they might have been.”

For a counter to all this, writing a year ago, Michael Laws argued that concerns about rodeo animals are misplaced: “The science suggests animals suffer no long-term harm. And rodeo injury rates for participating animals are less than for many other animal events. Therefore, NZ Rodeo believes that animal activists are fundamentally misinformed and misguided” – see: Rodeo’s critics ignore findings that it’s not cruel.

Finally, for those wanting to enjoy the rodeo, or to protest its existence, the Rodeo and Cowboys’ Association has listed its upcoming events here: 2018/2019 Rodeo Dates.