Company: Saudi lamb death conditions would have taxed Kiwi farmers

Revelations of the lamb deaths put more pressure on National over the deal, in which more than $11 million of taxpayer money was spent. Photo / Thinkstock

The best Kiwi farmers would have struggled with the conditions that led to a very high death rate among lambs from pregnant ewes sent to a farm in Saudi Arabia, a company involved in the operation says.

There was confusion about what led to the lambs' deaths yesterday, leading Labour to label the contradictory explanations the latest twist in a "bizarre and sad waste of millions of taxpayers' dollars".

The Primary Industries Minister, Nathan Guy, said he believed a sandstorm could be to blame. A few hours later, Brownrigg Agriculture, the Hawkes Bay company that won the tender to oversee establishment of the farm on land belonging to Hamood Al Ali Khalaf, said illness and heavy rain caused the deaths.

"It's a good finishing farm, but lambing can be hard. They were overwhelmed and unprepared for circumstances that would have challenged the best New Zealand farmers," Brownrigg's co-owner, David Brownrigg, said.

After 900 pregnant ewes were airfreighted to the Saudi farm, fewer than 300 of their lambs were found alive when 1100 lambs had been expected.

A vet and other staff were urgently flown over from New Zealand. About 850 of the ewes were alive, the Government previously said.

Mr Guy told reporters the deaths were disappointing and would be taken into account when future animal exports were considered.

The sheep were not on pasture but under some shelter, he said. Asked how so many lambs could die if there was shelter, Mr Guy said: "There is a lot of sand and the wind can get up and that caused, as I understand it, some mortality."

Revelations of the lamb deaths put more pressure on National over the deal, in which more than $11 million of taxpayer money was spent.

Labour's trade spokesman, David Parker, issued a press release yesterday entitled Operation Desert Storm, in which he said the so-called model farm was an embarrassment.

"National is sullying our international reputation for fair dealing, animal welfare and agricultural excellence."

Trade Minister Tim Groser defended Mr Guy's sandstorm comments in Parliament, saying such detail was operational and it was not the minister's job to "hot foot it up to a Saudi farm" to find out that type of information.