The furore over the care of pigs has made plenty of headlines, and in fact the care issue is on-going. But there has been a quiet step forward in farm animal welfare that has been made without attracting much media attention. It certainly seems a case of ‘bad’ news being ‘good’ where a big sector of the media are concerned.

The Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare has been issued with little fanfare by Agriculture Minister, David Carter, and it demands farmers adopt the highest standards of husbandry, care and handling of their animals.

The code was developed by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), and from last month it applies to all dairy cattle, including replacement stock and calves sent for slaughter.

It covers all aspects of dairy cattle management including calving, milking, housing, food, water, and shelter.

It sets down guidelines on shade and shelter. Cattle need access to shade in hot and shelter in cold weather and need a dry, well ventilated place to lie down each day.

“The code is a culmination of a lot of hard work and reflects the proactive stance on animal welfare taken by the dairy industry, says NAWAC chair, John Hellstrom.

“In a world of growing concern about animal welfare the industry and dairy farmers have shown themselves to be a model for the positive management of change. The industry should be in a good position to feel confident that dairy farmers can step up to the mark and comply with this code.”

NAWAC has a number of prescribed functions including providing advice to the minister on any matter pertaining to the welfare of animals, identifying research requirements, advice on legislative matters and the development of codes of welfare.

The dairy code also addresses the issue of appropriate body condition for cattle. All dairy cattle need sufficient food and nutrients to be fit and healthy. The code also establishes the threshold lower body condition score of a dairy cow where urgent action has to be taken to improve its condition.

Minimum standards cover:

Stockmanship and the requirement for adequate training; Adequate daily quantities of food and water; Requirements for adequate shade and shelter; Appropriate design, construction and maintenance of handling and housing facilities; Stand-off areas and feed pads; Requirements for milking and milking equipment; Requirements for calving; Appropriate management of calves (including hand rearing and feeding); Effective prevention and treatment of any ill health (including lameness); Requirements around pre-transport selection of animals; Emergency humane destruction procedures.

The code was drafted by a dairy industry working group and representatives from dairy farmer, animal welfare, university and veterinary groups were consulted. before the code was issued.

The Animal Welfare (Dairy Cattle) Code of Welfare 2010 is available online at http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/regs/animal-welfare/stds/codes or by mail.