The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports.

“This decision is cruel and cuts against the grain of our values as a nation,” says the Green Party’s Animal Welfare spokesperson, Steve Abel.

“Animals deserve a life free from suffering. Harmful practices that put profit ahead of their welfare are unacceptable.

“The reality is that live export, by its nature, cannot uphold any such standards, and this move contravenes both the spirit and the letter of New Zealand’s own Animal Welfare Act.

“Leading animal welfare organisations and experts have long condemned live exports due to the appalling conditions animals endure during transit, their uncertain fate upon arrival in countries with far lower welfare standards than we would accept here, and the repeated sinkings which have claimed the lives of crew and thousands of animals.

“New Zealanders were promised a transparent submissions process to discuss the trade’s future. Instead, the Government opted for limited, “targeted engagement,” largely behind closed doors, effectively silencing widespread opposition. This is policymaking by stealth.

“The rest of the world is moving away from live export of farmed animals, with bans recently announced in the UK and Australia. Doubling down on a practice widely viewed as cruel and archaic is a severe step backwards.

"How can the Government claim to respect animal welfare when it is willing to subject animals to such prolonged suffering for profit? On every level, it’s a national disgrace.

“This government has bought into the industry spin of ‘gold-standards’. The only certainty for animal welfare is keeping the ban on live exports. This is something we will continue to fight for,” says Steve Abel.

Notes:

• The majority of New Zealanders oppose the resumption of this trade. A survey of the New Zealand public commissioned by SPCA found that only 19 per cent of respondents thought the ban should be overturned. Not even farmers want it back–56 per cent of farmers supported keeping the ban in place.
• The hard won ban took effect in April, 2023.
• In the years immediately preceding the New Zealand live export ban, there were two large live export disasters:
• 2022: New Zealand, 12,300 cattle; MV Al Kuwait. Ship broke down enroute to pick up cattle waiting in pre-export isolation - cattle stranded and welfare problems reported
• 2020: New Zealand; 6,000 pregnant cows; Gulf Livestock 1. Ship capsized - death by drowning
• Just this year, worldwide there have been five live export ship disasters.

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