MEDIA RELEASE
Friday, 17 February 2012

For immediate release

DairyNZ welcomes animal traceability bill

DairyNZ has welcomed Parliament’s adoption of the National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill (NAIT) as a milestone in bringing animal traceability for the dairy industry to reality.

The NAIT Bill paves the way for the scheme to “go live” on July 1 this year as planned, with the requirement for all beef and dairy cattle to be tagged before they can be moved or sent to slaughter.

The scheme has a long history of partnership between industry groups, government, and more recently the NAIT implementing organisation.

DairyNZ CEO, Tim Mackle, says the passing of the NAIT legislation is welcomed. At the same time, the industry will be watching carefully to ensure the final scheme works effectively and efficiently and is not overly costly.

“There is no question that as a country and an industry we need NAIT. Being able to trace animals is at the heart of providing advanced biosecurity protection for our industry. Having this system in place builds on our reputation as highly credible food producers,” says Mr Mackle.

Farmers have been preparing for the introduction of the scheme. Many in the farming system have already voluntarily tagged their animals for some time, recognising the opportunities that a comprehensive identification and traceability system can deliver in terms of meeting consumer expectations and growing confidence.

-ENDS-

ABOUT DAIRYNZ
DairyNZ is the industry good organisation representing New Zealand’s dairy farmers. We are funded by a levy on milksolids and our purpose is to secure and enhance the profitability, sustainability and competitiveness of New Zealand dairy farming. We deliver value to farmers through leadership, influencing, investing, partnering with other organisations and through our own strategic capability. Our work includes research and development to create practical on-farm tools, leading on-farm adoption of best practice farming, promoting careers in dairying and advocating for farmers with central and regional government. For more information, visit www.dairynz.co.nz

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