'Tail-breaking' Dairyman Wont Work With Livestock Again
NEW ZEALAND - An indefinite ban for a former mid-Canterbury herd manager has been issued in response to him breaking a cow's tail.
15 October 2013
2 minute read
The farming community has reacted to the sentencing of the infamous 'tail breaking' Kevan Smith by saying that farmers and cows can relax in the knowledge that he will never work with animals.
As well as dealing with Kevan Smith, the message sent out is that such behaviour will not be tolerated form anyone else, said Willy Leferink, Federated Farmers Dairy Chairperson.
“While he has been sentenced to home detention the much bigger win for farming is the ban," stated Mr Leferink.
"It also sends a loud message to hot-heads that the dairy industry is not the place for them."
He added that the industry seems to be looking out for animal abuse and that Mr Smith's indefinite ban is a 'good thing' both for cows and farmers.
Furthermore, Mr Leferink described the act of purposefully breaking a cow's tail as defying every principle of stockmanship that he knows.
He commented on Federated Farmers Employment agreements saying: “Federated Farmers lawyers have prepared a guide for farmers trying to reconcile the Employment Relation’s Act 2000 with the Animal Welfare Act 1999. This is available free to members from 0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) and from the members section at www.fedfarm.org,nz.
“Farmers need to ensure the employment agreements they use are fit for purpose because Federated Farmers employment agreements are designed specifically for farming. We also encourage farmers to access DairyNZ resources and events to help them with stockmanship."
