An improved code of welfare for dairy cattle will enhance New Zealand’s strong reputation for animal welfare while ensuring changes are practical for farmers, Acting Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg says.
Grigg issued the revised code yesterday, after a review that drew on scientific evidence, practical farming experience and feedback from across the dairy sector.
“The revised Code of Welfare: Dairy Cattle makes important changes to add to already-high levels of animal welfare in the dairy sector, our largest export earner,” Grigg said.
Key changes include a minimum standard requiring calves to be fed at least twice a day for their first two weeks of life, and increasing the minimum body-condition score from 3 to 3.5 out of 10 for milking cows.
Grigg said the higher body-condition score reflected good farming practice and consumer expectations around animal welfare.
She had also recommended developing regulations to prohibit the tethering of dairy cattle and the use of electrified backing gates in milking sheds.
Development of these regulations would involve public consultation, she said.
The revised Code of Welfare: Dairy Cattle will come into effect on April 19 next year.
DairyNZ welcomed the update, saying it was an important step to ensure animal welfare standards continued to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
The organisation said it would work with the Ministry for Primary Industries and industry partners to help farmers prepare for the changes.
“Farmers take great pride in caring for their livestock, and our focus now is supporting them with clear information and practical tools to put the new requirements into practice,” DairyNZ science partnerships and impact adviser Jenny Jago said.
Federated Farmers also welcomed the changes, saying they would further enhance New Zealand’s international reputation for high animal welfare standards in the dairy sector.
“The revised Code of Welfare: Dairy Cattle...shows we’re not resting on our laurels,” dairy chairman Karl Dean said.
“We’re constantly striving to lift the bar and do better.”
Key changes to the dairy cattle code
- The minimum body-condition score in dairy cattle will be adjusted from 3 to 3.5 out of 10.
- A new minimum standard related to the feeding, rearing and weaning of calves. Calves must have access to milk or milk replacer at least twice a day in the first two weeks of their lives.
- Dairy cattle with a body-condition score of 3 or below can be taken off-farm only with veterinary approval.
- Minimum standards for tethering dairy cattle will be strengthened, and new tethering regulations will be developed after public consultation.
The code will apply to the welfare of dairy cattle including:
- Calves born from dairy cows until they are weaned, wherever they are reared.
- All dairy replacement stock, wherever they are being grazed.
- Unweaned dairy calves sold to abattoirs.
- Dairy cattle kept as “house cows”, such as on lifestyle blocks.
- Any bull brought on to a farm to mate with dairy cows or heifers, or kept at a breeding centre.
- Dairy cattle in saleyards (calves, cull cows, etc).
The code does not include dairy cattle raised for beef production once they’re weaned.
The code is available here.