Wellington - The bark of New Zealand's sheepdogs is indeed
worse than their bite and it has proved to be very stressful for the
sheep as they are herded into line for the slaughterman at the
country's abattoirs.
That doesn't just worry animal lovers. It is also a concern for
discerning diners, because it makes the lamb coming off the
production line a bit tougher and less succulent than the premium
meat on which New Zealand farmers have always prided themselves.
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is recommending
that to reduce the stress, dogs should be banned from moving sheep
from the holding pen outside each slaughterhouse to the killing area.
Chairman Peter O'Hara said that the animals were already pretty
stressed after being trucked from the farm to the abattoir and being
rounded up by a pack of barking dogs and forced to head for the
slaughterman did not improve their condition.
Traditional abattoirs were not well designed and dogs were often
needed to move the sheep along, he said. 'But now, it is certainly
possible to design yards and races so that stock will tend to move of
their own accord and don't need a whole lot of pressure.'
The committee's recommendation to Agriculture Minister David
Carter follows news that a visiting delegation from the British
supermarket chain Tesco - one of the biggest buyers of the 300,000
tons of New Zealand lamb exports every year - was concerned that
dogs were 'quite aggressive' towards the sheep as they moved them to
the killing area.
Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's leading meat company, which
exports to about 60 countries, has announced that it is phasing out
the use of sheepdogs at its plants, in favour of humans waving sticks
and rattles, in response to growing international concern about
animal welfare.
'It's very sad in some respects, I think,' spokesman Brent
Melville saud. 'It's the end of an era.'
Shepherds and traditionalists agree, seeing the move signalling
the beginning of the end for the dogs that have been an integral part
of the industry since New Zealand started sheep farming in the
mid-19th century.
Shepherd Mick Petheram told the New Zealand Press Association,
'Sheep have had dogs around them from the day they were born. It's
the New Zealand way.'
Without dogs, people would end up having to push the sheep
physically, he said. 'I know from my experience - to shift stock, the
frustration will build up and these sheep will be inhumanely
handled.'
Dave Eastlake, secretary of the Meat Workers' Union, said, 'The
sheep are brought up with dogs around them and they'll probably miss
them when they're not there and they have a whole lot of people
yelling and clacking little clackers at them rather than dogs, but
that's not the way some market people see it.'
Bob Kerridge, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, said an untrained dog could stress stock, but those used in
farming were generally well-trained.
'I can't imagine for one minute the quality of meat or stock is
altered in any way, shape or form by use of well-trained dogs,' he
said.
Lachlan McKenzie, animal welfare spokesman of the Federated
Farmers organization, said use of the dogs in confined places like
the abattoirs was different to large paddocks, where there was
distance between them and the sheep.
'If we didn't have a little bit of stress in all of our lives, we
would die,' he said. 'Too much is bad, but none is also bad.'
Another farmer, Bruce Wells, said the commercial realities of
customer demand had to be faced and farmers would have to weigh up
the pros and cons if the market offered to pay a premium price for an
animal that was not herded by dogs.
'But in the paddock environment working without dogs would be very
problematic.'
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