Animal Welfare

Animal welfare is at the heart of what we do at AUSTREX NZ, and we take our responsibility to lead the world in best-practice animal welfare extremely seriously.

For over 48 years, we have maintained an industry leading record of exporting and delivering livestock safely, with strong animal welfare and long-term customer satisfaction our primary objectives. With an experienced veterinarian as our group Chairman (Dr Richard Trivett), the highest animal welfare standards are championed from the very top and throughout the business. Our high standards and excellent compliance record are central to our company culture and reputation.

Our sustainability strategy is based on the modern ‘Five Domains’ animal welfare approach – a commitment to do no harm and proactively pursue a positive welfare state.

The five domains are

NUTRITION
Appropriate consumption of water and nutritious foods to maintain health and minimise thirst and hunger

ENVIRONMENT
Where applicable, provide shade or shelter, good housing, good air quality and comfortable rest

HEALTH
Prevent, or rapidly diagnose and treat disease and injury so animals enjoy good health

BEHAVIOUR
Provide sufficient space, proper facilities and appropriate company of the animals’ own kind

MENTAL STATE
Promote conditions that make animals feel safe and secure, and avoid mental suffering

The Five Domains of animal welfare and their association with the Principles and Criteria^[ii] and how these apply to best practice New Zealand livestock export

Five Domains	Welfare Principles	Welfare criteria	Application by Best Practice New Zealand cattle sea exporters^[1]
Nutrition	Good feeding	Absence of prolonged hunger Absence of prolonged thirst	Nutritional tested pellets and hay of specific quality and formulation is supplied in excess of 2.7% bodyweight across 3-4 daily feeds Fresh water is provided ad lib in automated water systems
Environment	Good housing	Comfort around resting Thermal comfort Ease of movement	Current stocking densities in 20-30m² pens allow all cattle to stand up and walk-around. All cattle can feed or lie-down to rest at the same time Pen air turnovers (PAT) >250m/hr on custom built vessels and regular pen washing (every 2-5 days) removes heat and ammonia from the pen microclimate, controlling air quality and heat stress risk Bedding is provided in excess of 7MT per 1000m²
Health	Good health	Absence of injuries Absence of disease Absence of pain induced my management procedures	Stringent cattle procurement policies are the key metric to disease prevention by ensuring cattle quality and consistency at loading (200-500kg, BCS >2.7, thrifty, sound) Veterinarians are intrinsically involved in disease prevention, management and treatment
Behaviour & Mental state	Appropriate behaviour	Expression of social behaviours Expression of other behaviours Good human-animal relationship Positive Emotional state	Cattle are penned in groups of their peers in established social groups and strict draft lines (weight, frame score, type) where they complete normal ruminating and grooming behaviours Low-stress stock handling completed during all interaction

^[1] Based on the authors detailed knowledge of best practice exporters. Increased regulation and control is required to assure this becomes the industry minimum, for an effective transition period.
^[i] Mellor, D. & Beausoleil, N. (2015), ‘Extending the five domains model for animal welfare assessment to incorporated positive welfare states’, Animal Welfare, 24 (241-253).
^[ii] Blokhuis, HJ. (2008), ‘International cooperation in animal welfare: The Welfare Quality project’. Acta veterinaria scandinavica, 50 (1).

Animal welfare is at the heart of what we do at AUSTREX NZ, and we take our responsibility to lead the world in best-practice animal welfare extremely seriously.

The five domains are

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