BITTER WEATHER KILLS NEW BORN LAMBS, AGAIN

Disgraceful scenes of thousands of dying and dead lambs have once again beamed into New Zealand living rooms. As usual farmers blame ‘unseasonal' weather and most viewers are convinced saying it's an unfortunate cruel act of nature.

"It's a shame they are so fooled. Snow and cold weather are completely normal for this time of year and cannot be blamed for the carnage in our paddocks. Bad farming practice, on the other hand can", says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

"Farmers plan when lambs are born and in order to meet demands from overseas markets many schedule lambs to be born in winter or early spring. This exposes the animals to extremely cold conditions resulting in many dying from hypothermia every year. To make matters worse, many farmers fail to provide adequate shelter for their animals, which is actually against the law", says Hans.

"MAF and the SPCA have the power to prosecute but do not appear to have the will. They must shoulder some of the responsibility for letting farmers get away with breaking the law, year after year", says Hans.

11 October 2006