More transparency around New Zealand’s livestock exportation process is needed following the sinking of a ship carrying 5,800 cows according to the Veterinary Association.
The Ministry for Primary Industries has temporarily suspended live cattle exports after a livestock ship went missing off the coast of Japan last week.
Two New Zealanders are among 43 crew members who were onboard the ship when it capsized. They have not been found.
A review into livestock exports was announced last year in New Zealand, and is currently ongoing.
The Veterinary Association is now calling for a conditional ban on live exports which means as long as the welfare of the animals is taken care of, exports can continue.
The association's Chief Veterninary Officer Dr Helen Beattie says the welfare of the animals needs to be managed “from assembly, through transport and then we believe also for the rest of their life as well”.
“If we’re putting these animals on boats or exporting any animals for that matter, we need to be mindful of the type of environment we’re sending them into.”
“So that’s ... the journey, but also what they experience at the destination.”
As it stands, Beattie says New Zealand exports of animals for a number or reasons, including for food production, horses racing and even pets.
For this to continue, she says more information is needed.
“In order for us to go ahead and continue to support the idea of a conditional ban we would need a lot more information to fill our silo to make sure we can feel comfortable about that. Part of that is having enough information about what the transport looks like."
She says if the group is comfortable with the overall journey process, there is no reason live exports can't continue.
A decision was expected earlier this year but the review was put on hold due to Covid-19.
“But that’s a strong qualifier right, we need to understand what’s going on in a much, much deeper and more detailed level.”
The Green Party is calling for a total ban on live exports, which Beattie says the association would support - but only if a full welfare assessment revealed animal’s weren’t being taken care of accordingly.
“If the welfare during the first two parts of this journey is not protected then we would support a ban. We need to be mindful we’re in charge of these animals.
“We’ve lost lives both human and animals here and that is a tragedy.”
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