SAFE Animal Squad
The cruel live export trade
New Zealanders take pride in valuing animal welfare. In New Zealand, our law states that animals are sentient. Because animals are individuals able to feel emotions such as pain and joy, we have standards for how they should be treated.
In 2003, we achieved a ban on the live export of animals for slaughter. However, loopholes in the law mean that millions of our animals are still being sent overseas alive. It is time to close the loopholes and end live export for good.
It’s not just cows who are suffering. A baby chick is selected for export at only one day old. Once she hatches from her egg, she expects to see her mother. Instead, she is placed in a box with thousands of other chicks. She is then flown overseas, to an intensive farm – she is then barely two days old.
After her time in an intensive farm, she may be slaughtered using standards lower than those in New Zealand. Most countries that New Zealand exports farmed animals to do not require stunning before slaughter. This means that New Zealand animals sent overseas may have their throats slit while they are still conscious.
