Silver Fern to phase out sheepdogs by end of year

Federated Farmers said the phasing out of sheepdogs was 'not a big issue'. File photo / Hawkes Bay Today

More than 60 sheepdogs may find themselves on death row as Silver Fern Farms moves to phase out their use by the end of the year.

Silver Fern was recently asked by customer giant British supermarket chain Tesco to stop using the dogs, saying they "stressed" the sheep and should not be used unless they could be trained to be "more considerate" to the animals.

This followed finding by scientists that if animals were "stressed" immediately before slaughter the pH level of the meat increased, creating a pale, watery cut.

The supermarket chain suggested the shepherds should wave their arms, beat sticks or wave flags, to move the sheep into the abattoir.

Silver Fern Farms spokesman Brent Melville said yesterday that while the company was planning to stop using the dogs, it was not because of an order from Tesco.

"As of next season we will no longer have sheepdogs in our yards in the plant, but it's nothing to do with Tesco coming to us and saying `we want them out', it's a management decision we've taken," he said.

Mr Melville said customers were not happy with the use of the dogs to move sheep, and the move followed an international trend surrounding animal welfare issues.

One shepherd has warned that the phasing out could mean a large number of dogs, particularly young ones still in training, being destroyed.

Shepherd Mick Petheram told the Ashburton Guardian newspaper local shepherds would be desperately trying to sell their dogs.

"These are bloody good dogs. Taking away our dogs is like taking a hammer away from a builder; we can't do our job without them."

Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Bruce Wills said the phasing out of sheepdogs by Silver Fern Farms "is not a big issue".

Shepherds saying their dogs would have to be put down was "drawing a very long bow", he said.

"Most of the time on farms the dogs are a great distance away from the sheep."

Anything that enhanced the quality of export meat was good for the industry, he said, pointing out that other companies like Affco haven't used sheepdogs in years.

- NZPA