The government has allowed a two-year lead-in before the ban on live shipments comes into force. File pic Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Three more shipments of live cattle are expected to depart New Zealand for China before a ban on the trade comes into force at the end of next month.
When the government announced the ban on livestock exports by sea in 2021 it granted the sector a two-year transition period, allowing exports to continue under tightened rules which were introduced after the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1.
Nearly 6000 cattle and 43 crew, including two New Zealanders, were on board the Gulf Livestock 1 when it capsized in the East China Sea in 2020.
The Gulf Livestock 1 that sank in the East China Sea in 2020. Photo: Frans Truyens via Vessel Finder
Figures from the Ministry for Primary Industries show last year 134,590 live cattle were shipped to China, where they are being used for breeding purposes.
That compared to 134,722 cattle in 2021 and 109,921 cattle in 2020, but numbers were much lower in 2019 - when just under 40,000 cattle were exported to the country.
MPI said so far this year two livestock shipments, comprising 11,574 cattle in total, had departed New Zealand. A further three shipments were in preparation, with the latest scheduled to depart Napier Port on 19 April.
When Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor announced the government's plan to ban livestock exports, he said the trade posed an unacceptable risk to New Zealand's reputation, in a world where animal welfare was under increasing scrutiny.
Last week the ACT Party's primary industry spokesperson, Mark Cameron, put a Member's Bill into the ballot, to repeal the ban on livestock exports.
Cameron said if the industry was regulated under a gold standard, that would address any reputational concerns without cutting off a revenue stream for farmers.
"This is a wonderful economic earner, the practice can only be improved," he said.