Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2021: Bills Digest 2658

The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2021 (the bill) amends the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the Act) to ban the export of livestock (cattle, deer, sheep, and goats) by sea with a transitional period.

Background

The table below outlines some of the key events leading to the introduction of the bill.

• focused maritime inspection of livestock carrier ships entering New Zealand to transport livestock by Maritime New Zealand as an additional safeguard
• restricting stocking density on vessels to 90 percent of current limits to match new Australian standards
• increased requirements for voyage reporting, including daily veterinary reports during voyages
• increased minimum fodder requirements that ensure at least 20 per cent of feed is available for unplanned delays during the voyage .

Main amendments

Below is some of the main amendments proposed by the bill.

Animal welfare export certificate must not be issued for certain animals

Clause 7 of the bill inserts new section 41 into the Act. It provides that on or after 30 April 2023 (the conclusion of the transitional period) a person must not apply for, and the Director-General of MPI must not issue, an animal welfare export certificate for the export of cattle, deer, goats, or sheep by ship.

Exemptions

Section 48 of the Act empowers the Director-General to exempt certain species or types of animals from the requirements of section 40(1) (which states that a person commits an offence if they export an animal from New Zealand on a ship or aircraft without an animal welfare export certificate).

Clause 10 amends section 48 so that the Director-General must not exempt the export of cattle, deer, goats, or sheep by ship if the animals would leave New Zealand on or after 30 April 2023.