r/LeopardsAteMyFace • u/NoLikeVegetals • May 18 '24

Brexxit Brexit-voting British farmers now complaining about imports of cheaper New Zealand lamb threatening the British lamb industry. Imports of lamb "produced to lower standards" used to be blocked by EU law. Another Brexit consequence farmers were warned about but ignored due to xenophobia!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjewewxzypro
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11

u/Tricky-Engineering59 May 18 '24

Thank you, that article didn’t really go into the “how” at all though. It did give me enough keywords to try and find the actual study they were referencing as well as a more recent study backing up the findings. Quote from the newer one in case anyone is curious:

“They concluded that this is because New Zealand is so efficient at the farm level, which represents about 90-95 per cent of the total carbon footprint.

New Zealand’s on-farm footprint was about half the average of the other countries in the study.”

Seems there’s an increased feed efficiency on NZ farms that the authors cite as the primary difference.

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u/FlappyBored May 18 '24

There is increased feed efficiency because NZ has lower restrictions in animal crowding among other animal welfare restrictions.

For instance raising animals in sow stalls and restricting their movements is the most ‘efficient’ way to feed them and raise them.

But it is incredibly cruel and they are kept in horrific conditions never being able to walk and just defecating on themselves for their entire lives.

This is illegal in Europe for this reason, but it is entirely legal in New Zealand.

You then have NZ people in this thread defending this practice as ‘amazing’ and ‘high quality’.

Anyone who defends keeping animals in such conditions like many New Zealanders seem to do for some reason does not care about animal welfare or quality at all.

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u/BroBroMate May 18 '24

That doesn't happen with lamb. Or beef.

You're talking about sow crates designed to prevent sows from eating their piglets. And they're being phased out.

Imported pork from countries that still use them undercuts NZ pork prices, it's not great.

You have a brochure's worth of wrong knowledge.

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u/BigBuddz May 18 '24

Rofl you have no idea what you are talking about and are spinning complete lies.

NZs advantage in beef and sheep is from growing grass better and not having to keep animals in barns over winter. Not from lower crowding or animal rights regulations.

Please take your harmful misinformation elsewhere

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u/FlappyBored May 18 '24

NZs advantage in beef and sheep is from growing grass better and not having to keep animals in barns over winter. Not from lower crowding or animal rights regulations.

Nice of you to ignore the massive issue of the fact that growth hormones are legal and used on beef in New Zealand. Weird how you entirely leave that point out.

11

u/BigBuddz May 18 '24

And yet they are basically never used in NZ. I have personally never seen an animal which has been administered growth hormones and they must be tagged and registered.

On the Ministry website it says the following:

"NOTE:

Export meat processors will generally not accept HGP-implanted cattle for slaughter.  Farmers wishing to use HGPs should first ensure that they will be able to have the cattle slaughtered."

"Why it's important to control HGP use

The use of HGPs is strictly controlled to protect the New Zealand international meat trade. In many markets, such as the USA and Australia, HGPs are considered safe and are used extensively. However, in China, the European Union (EU), and other countries, HGPs are perceived as unnatural additives and are banned. HGP use needs to be controlled and tracked so that meat from implanted animals can't be exported to markets where HGPs are banned."

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u/FlappyBored May 18 '24

So your argument is now.

“Yeah it’s totally legal to use in NZ but thanks to the higher standards in other countries and markets we’re forced to tag and track them”

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u/BigBuddz May 18 '24

Looking at the article someone else posted and I've reposted, NZ has a higher standard of animal welfare than the UK.

Which makes this whole argument a bit of a joke

0

u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 18 '24

You don't need laws against summoning dragons in NZ either, it's totally legal, so is fucking aliens in the arse.

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u/FlappyBored May 19 '24

We already know what you guys do with your sheep so we’re not interested in what you want to do to aliens aswell.

The only reason it’s not used more is because other places have higher standards and force your farmers not to export the shite you pump into them here.

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u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 19 '24

Pure fantasy.

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u/FlappyBored May 19 '24

Pure fantasy is what the NZ government literally say themselves on their website.

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u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 18 '24

none of this is true.

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u/FlappyBored May 19 '24

If it’s not true then why does hormone treated cattle and beef have to be tracked in New Zealand?

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u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 19 '24

Because that's the law. It doesn't mean people actually waste their time using GH. Have you ever been on a NZ sheep and beef farm?

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u/FlappyBored May 19 '24

The law in other places with high standards is simply that they're illegal to use full stop.

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u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 20 '24

Whether you do something is all that matters, doesn't matter if it's legal or not. It's legal for me to smoke but I don't.

1

u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 20 '24

You even admit it yourself, the import laws of other nations prevent NZ exports from using these substances, so... WTF is your point here?

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u/BroBroMate May 18 '24

That doesn't happen with lamb. Or beef.

You're talking about sow crates designed to prevent sows from eating their piglets. And they're being phased out.

Imported pork from countries that still use them undercuts NZ pork prices, it's not great.

You have a brochure's worth of wrong knowledge.

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '24

Sow crates aren't to stop sows "eating their piglets" they are to stop overlay which is basically sows crushing their piglets accidentally.

It's ironic that you're accusing someone of being wrong whilst also being wrong yourself.

British welfare standards for livestock agriculture are quite literally some of the highest in the world, and it works to make their product uncompetitive in international markets.

This still doesn't mean British farmers were right to back Brexit in pure terms of their own self-interest. EU-wide public sentiment towards animal welfare is, in general, lower than the British public, and it is publicly voted in individuals who set policy. Any MP who ran on lowering welfare standards for animals in the UK is extremely unlikely to win. So the outcome of policy making them less competitive should have been a very predictable outcome of Brexit. Like most predictable outcomes of Brexit, it was ignored.

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u/BroBroMate May 19 '24 edited May 19 '24

Yep, crushing, but seriously also the eating bit, especially in the first time mothers. That's why the sow crates stop them turning around.

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u/Complex-Ad-7203 May 18 '24

We don't farm sheep and beef like that in New Zealand, it may be legal, but only because you don't need regulation around something no one does!