EDITORIAL: The long arm of the law always bendable

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

THE death toll stands at 443.

That's how many sheep died as part of the controversial export of animals from Timaru to Mexico. There was also one cow that didn't make it.

Two weeks packed together in temperatures of up to 30C ... at least, it is slightly better than sailing on a people smuggler's boat.

No reports yet of what the veterinarians, on board to monitor the animals' health, were doing about it.

The biggest export of livestock by New Zealand was always going to end in fatalities - in fact, 252 sheep died before even getting their sea legs.

And this from a country which, not so long ago, took the correct moral stance and banned the live export of animals for slaughter.

But there is always a way around doing the right thing - in the case of the Mexico shipment, the animals were for breeding purposes.

Likewise for those exported to Saudi Arabia as compensation to Hmood Al Ali Al-Khalaf whose business interests suffered when the ban was put in place. The death toll was high on that trip, too.

The ban was passed into law to protect the welfare of animals. It would be fair to say that the latest exports go against the spirit of the law, if not its wording.

Still on the four-legged front, there is a furore closer to home, with some St John's Hill residents upset by the noise when the Wanganui Dog Training Club holds its events on Otamatea Reserve.

As a dog owner myself who makes use of the reserve, I will admit an interest, but I still think the residents are barking up the wrong tree.

Roaming, uncontrolled dogs are a problem in Wanganui.

The dog training club teaches obedience and control and that is a valuable service. The members pay rates - and fork out a bit extra for dog licences - and the district council should be supporting responsible owners.

Roaming dog or obedient dog? This is one case where the bite is worse than the bark.