Live cow exports to continue till ban date

Port Taranaki says it will continue its role in animal exports right up until the Government’s ban on the trade comes into force next year.

From April 30 next year, exports of livestock by sea will be banned, following the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, which passed in Parliament on Wednesday.

Port Taranaki chief executive Simon Craddock said it had been aware of the ban for the past 18 months and respected the Government’s decision.

‘‘Port Taranaki is not an exporter. We provide a facility for exporters, and at the time of the initial announcement we made the decision to continue to support livestock export customers, as and when required, through to the ban.

‘‘The export of livestock remains a lawful activity, and the vessels operate according to international rules and certifications.’’

In the past financial year, a total of 16,100 cattle across three shipments had been exported from Port Taranaki.

‘‘Three shipments equates to 1.1% of all trade-related vessel visits, so the numbers are small. Revenue figures are commercially sensitive, as customers have a choice of which port is best to export from,’’ Craddock said.

New Plymouth district councillor and Taranaki Animal Rights Group member Anneka Carlson was happy the practice was going to be banned after what she called ‘‘a long, hard fight’’.

‘‘[I’m] a little bit sad that it couldn’t have been banned immediately, and it still has to continue until April, but all in all I’m extremely happy that it’s going to be banned.’’

But Carlson said the work was not quite over – the National Party has said it will review the law if it gets into government, while ACT has vowed to overturn the ban, calling it ‘‘yet another headache for New Zealand farmers’’.

Carlson began protesting against live exports after Port Taranaki started to accept ships in January 2020.

Advocating had been ‘‘pretty tough’’ at the time, while many people and farmers were not happy with livestock export, there was only a small group of advocates who were making noise against the practice, Carlson said.

While they had banded together with groups around the country to create a national movement, Carlson said a turning point had been the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1.

The ship garnered national attention when it capsized in September 2020, killing 41 people and 6000 cattle weeks after leaving Napier Port.

‘‘I think as awful as that was it definitely helped to get it banned, and I genuinely think if that ship hadn’t sunk, we wouldn’t be where we are now.’’

The ban was first announced by the Government in April 2021, but does not cover the export of live animals by air.

‘‘(I’m) a little bit sad that it couldn’t have been banned immediately, and it still has to continue until April, but all in all I’m extremely happy that it’s going to be banned.’’

Anneka Carlson