Animal Welfare

EVERGREEN LEATHER raises awareness of New Zealand's strict laws.

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is the New Zealand government department in charge of establishing and enforcing animal welfare standards. For the purpose of primary production, and the export of meat and other animal byproducts, the process is based on sustainable farming and also on the ethical treatment of livestock.

To ensure the highest level of animal welfare in New Zealand, a number of policies and laws have been put in place:

FIVE FREEDOMS

Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
By having easy access to fresh water and eating a healthy diet, you can stay in good health.
Freedom from Discomfort
By providing a proper environment that involves shelter and a comfortable place to rest.
Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease
By early diagnosis and treatment or by prevention.
Freedom to Express Normal Behavior
By providing the animal with adequate space, facilities, and company of its own kind.
Freedom from Fear and Distress
By ensuring the proper conditions and providing the necessary care to prevent mental distress.

Animal Welfare Act 1999

The Animal Welfare Act 1999 is New Zealand's animal welfare law, and it includes the country's high animal welfare standards.

Anyone who is an "owner or person in charge of an animal" is subject to the Animal Welfare Act of 1999. This covers the farmer, the shipper, and any place where the animals are kept or killed.

The owner or person who is in charge of an animal has a duty to take care of the animal’s health, physical conditions, and behavioral needs with good practices and proper scientific understanding.

Along with the five freedoms, the Animal Welfare Act also has the following obligations:

Alleviate pain or distress:
Wherever possible, an owner or the person who is in charge of an injured animal must make sure that the animal gets proper care that reduces the unnecessary pain or discomfort that the animal may be experiencing.

Humane Killing:
An animal must not be killed in a way that results in excessive or unnecessary suffering.

Transportation:
Anyone who is the owner of a vehicle or the vehicle in which an animal is being transported is required to make sure….
… Welfare of the animal is adequately taken care of.
… The animal is kept in a comfortable and secure environment.
… Animals receive proper and adequate food and water.

Surgical procedure:
A surgical operation may not be carried out in a way that causes unnecessary pain to the animals.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
  • Office International des Epizooties (OIE), World Organization for Animal Health (http://www.oie.int/en/)
  • The Trans-Tasman Animal Welfare Committee (AWC)
  • The Farm Animal Welfare Council (UK)
  • The New Zealand/European Commission Animal Welfare Co-operation Forum
  • The EU Welfare Quality Project
  • The Council for Europe Standing Committee of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes
  • The Quads Animal Welfare Group (New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada)
  • European Forum of Animal Welfare Councils (EuroFAWC)
NZ Farm Assurance Programme

The sheep, beef, and deer farms are audited and certified under the NZ Farm Assurance Programme. The certification allows the exporters to maximize the product eligibility for various customers and also helps meet the requirements of domestic regulatory compliance.

Customers are interested in the origin and traceability of the food they purchase, and they have faith that the methods used in its production fit their standards. Products that are both safe to eat and produced ethically are becoming more and more in demand. Buyers are responding to this customer demand by requiring that their suppliers achieve certain production requirements.

The NZ Farm Assurance Program was established to reassure customers that farms in New Zealand must meet a minimum quality standard.

Documentation:
RMPP: www.rmpp.co.nz/page/nz-farm-assurance/

Certified and trained staff

Department supervisors must consider the training requirements of the employees after they have completed their induction, taking into consideration their verifiable credentials and prior experience.

Individuals will receive the proper training as needed, taking into account the responsibilities and tasks they are expected to carry out. The Department Supervisor will organize the on-the-job training. But if any specialist training is needed, it will arranged the Health & Safety Coordinator.

Additional training is needed for the roles of Quality Control, Supervisor, Key Person, Leading Hand, and Team Leader.

NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing Act)

The partnership between the beef, deer, and dairy industries and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in order to form NAIT Ltd. OSPRI New Zealand Ltd.'s subsidiary NAIT Ltd. It is currently being used on all bovine and deer.

The National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012 aims to create a system for tracking and identifying animals that:

  • It provides accurate tracing of individual animals from birth to death.

  • It provides information about the current location as well as the movements of a specific animal.

  • It enhances biosecurity administration.

  • It controls the risks to human health that occur from food-borne diseases, animal-to-human disease transmission, and also from residues in food.

The NAIT system has four main factors:

Biosecurity
When an exotic disease outbreak or biosecurity incursion occurs, New Zealand can respond by tracking suspect or infected livestock and identifying, prioritizing, and treating suspect or infected animals.

Food safety
New Zealand provides assurance to local and international markets related to food safety requirements and product integrity through the traceability of livestock and the linked property of origin.

Market assurance and access
New Zealand gives assurance to both local and international markets and customers of the quality that is linked with livestock product integrity, for which traceability is a clear necessity.

Animal health surveillance
NAIT allows for the integration of animal health information as well as the monitoring, supervision, and management of endemic and exotic illnesses.

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