KEY POINTS:
Cutting velvet from stags without giving adequate pain relief or having the required approvals has cost a Waikanae deer agent and farmer $1000.
In Wellington District Court yesterday, Noel William Cudby, 56, was convicted and fined under the Animal Welfare Act for illegally performing a significant surgical procedure.
Cudby had been charged over the de-velveting of deer on two separate properties on different occasions.
The court was told Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officers had warned him the first time and Cudby had vowed not to repeat the offending.
Within six weeks of the warning, he had offended again.
In that case, the court was told, deer farmer Vincent Connolly had pleaded guilty earlier to authorising Cudby to perform the illegal de-velveting.
MAF investigation manager Greg Reid welcomed the conviction.
He said the National Velvet Standards Body programme was critical to New Zealand's market access in Europe and such cases had potential to put exports at risk. It was important New Zealand's trading partners saw a tough stance was taken against the few people who breached the rules.
New Zealand exported 80 per cent of its farmed venison to Europe, where de-velveting stags was deemed illegal on welfare grounds. Any deviation from accepted and scientifically based velvet harvesting could result in trade barriers that would have a "devastating effect" on the industry.
- NZPA
