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A mother cow has been skinned alive on an Ashburton farm in an act that was livestreamed on social media, prompting widespread outrage and renewed scrutiny of New Zealand’s animal welfare laws.
The farmers involved have pleaded guilty under the Animal Welfare Act and were fined $2,000 each.
The court accepted it could not be proven that the cow was conscious, but ruled the farmers failed to minimise unnecessary or unreasonable pain or distress.
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand said the penalties did not reflect the severity of what occurred.
Danette Wereta, General Secretary of the Animal Justice Party, said the case highlighted major failings in current protections.
“It is unthinkable to consider that she did not feel extreme pain and terror. Referring to her as ‘it’ also highlights the systemic problem, she was a living, sentient mum capable of fear and suffering. If a human had been treated in this way, the criminal liability would be indisputable. Yet under current law, the burden of proof falls on an animal that cannot speak for herself. This is morally and legally unacceptable.”
Wereta said the livestreamed nature of the act, and the fact viewers watched and supported it, added to the horror. She said the offenders denied the cow was alive despite clear signs she was breathing.
She said the minimal fines and the continued operation of the farm raised concerns about future treatment of animals in its care.
“New Zealand is marketed globally as a ‘clean, green’ country, but beneath the façade lies our dirty dairy and environmentally harmful farming practices. Recent changes allowing mumma pigs to be kept in cages and the proposed roll back of live animal exports reveal what farming in New Zealand is really like cruel, shocking, and unethical.”
Wereta said this case was not isolated.
“Footage from farms around the country reveals systemic cruelty, fear, and neglect endured by farmed animals. The legal loopholes that allow such acts to go insufficiently punished must be closed and minimum standards raised in codes of welfare.”
The Animal Justice Party is calling for an Independent Commissioner for Animals and a transition away from farming animals, saying the law must evolve to recognise the rights of animals.
