The Code of Welfare: Sheep and Beef Cattle sets out standards that must be achieved to meet obligations under the Animal Welfare Act 1999. It was last updated in 2018.
Update July 2025: consultation has now closed. Access B+LNZ’s consultation submission here (PDF,
792KB).
The new proposals take into account new technologies and updated science, and include new standards related to dairy sheep.
About the proposed code
The proposed code is broken into 10 parts:
- General requirements
- Stockpersonship and Animal Handling
- Water and Feed
- Behaviour
- The Physical Environment
- Husbandry Practices
- Disease and Injury Control
- On-Farm Humane Killing
- Contingency Planning
- Welfare Assurance Systems.
Each part of the code is broken into three main sections:
- Minimum Standards: these are the standards everyone is expected to meet to comply with the law. Failure to meet a minimum standard can be used as evidence in a prosecution.
- Example Indicators: these are the pieces of evidence that demonstrate a minimum standard is being met. For example, cattle in good body condition are an indicator that they are being appropriately fed.
- Recommended Best Practices: these are considered the ‘gold standard’ practices the industry should be aiming for and give an indication of the direction of travel for animal welfare. Often recommended best practices can become a minimum standard over time.
- Some farmers may already be doing these things, for example providing pain relief when castrating lambs or calves.
Full details of the proposed code and the consultation are available on MPI’s website here.
B+LNZ’s view
We believe there are aspects of the proposed code that need attention and we sought farmer input on these points. For example:
- Minimum Standard 18(d) states that unweaned lambs to be transported off the farm must be fed within two hours of transport – we believe this is unrealistic.
- Minimum Standard 22(j) states that for the first three weeks after birth calves must be fed at least twice a day – this ignores the successful Poukawa calf-feeding system which many farmers are using to produce excellent calves.
- There are some Example Indicators which we feel are overly prescriptive and unrealistic, for example a requirement for calves to be fed 15 percent of their body weight in two meals a day for three weeks.
We also had questions around the following, which we tested with farmers:
- whether it’s reasonable to state a minimum acceptable body condition score for livestock
- whether it’s reasonable to expect that any ewe or cow that has difficulty giving birth for any reason should be culled
- whether the minimum standards for off-paddock facilities and feedlots are fit for purpose.
Farmer input to the consultation
B+LNZ made a consultation submission, informed by farmer input (through a farmer focus group examining some of the on-farm practicality in more detail, and via other opportunities such as webinars taking farmers through the proposals and getting feedback). Access the submission here (PDF, 792KB).
We also encouraged farmers to make their own submissions, particularly where on-farm practicality needs to be further considered.
Further support
B+LNZ ran webinars on 23 and 30 June where we outlined the proposals and our views – find a recording of one of the webinars here.
We will provide updates on this process as they become available.