Management Practices
5.7 Management Practices
This section includes:
5.7.8 Identification of livestock products
For additional rules specific to the USA market please refer to point 1.3 and 3.1 Supplementary Requirements for Organic Operators producing for the USA Market.
Husbandry Management Practices
5.7.1 In principle, the reproduction of organically reared livestock should be based on natural methods. Nevertheless artificial insemination is permitted. Other forms of artificial or assisted reproduction (for example embryo transfers and cloning) are prohibited.
5.7.2 Mutilations are prohibited however operations such as attaching elastic bands to the tails of sheep, tail-docking, and dehorning are exceptions and must not be carried out systematically in organic farming. Some of these operations may, however, be authorised by AsureQuality for reasons of safety (for example dehorning in young animals) or if they are intended to improve the health, welfare or hygiene of the livestock. Such operations must be carried out at the most appropriate age by qualified personnel and any suffering to the animals must be reduced to a minimum. Cutting of teeth, trimming of beaks is not permitted under any circumstances.
5.7.3 Physical castration is allowed in order to maintain the quality of products and traditional production practices (meat-type pigs, bullocks, capons, etc) but only under the conditions set out in the last sentence of paragraph 5.7.2.
5.7.4 Keeping livestock tethered is forbidden. Nevertheless, by exception from this principle AsureQuality can authorise this practice for individual animals upon justification by the operator, that this is necessary for safety or welfare reasons, and that such tethering is only for a limited period of time.
5.7.5 Where livestock are reared in groups, the size of the group must depend upon their stage of development and the behavioural needs of the species concerned. The keeping of livestock in conditions, or on a diet, which may encourage anaemia is prohibited.
5.7.6 For poultry, the minimum age at slaughter shall be:
- 51 days for chickens
- 150 days for capons
- 49 days for Peking ducks
- 70 days for female Muscovy ducks
- 84 days for male Muscovy ducks
- 92 days for Mallard ducks
- 94 days for guinea fowl
- 140 days for turkeys and roasting geese.
Where producers do not apply these minimum slaughter ages, they must use slow-growing strains.
Transport and Slaughter
5.7.7 Transport of livestock must be carried out so as to limit the stress suffered by the animals in accordance with the relevant NZ legislation in force. Loading and unloading must be carried out with caution and without the use of any type of electronic or chemical stimulation to coerce the animals. The use of any allopathic tranquilliser, prior to and during transport, is prohibited.
The journey time to the slaughter shall not exceed eight hours. When there is no certified organic slaughterhouse within eight hours travel time, an animal may be transported for a period in excess.
During the period leading up to and at the time of slaughter, livestock must be handled in such a way that stress to the animals is reduced to a minimum.
Throughout the different steps of the process there shall be a person responsible for the well being of the animals.
Animals must be provided with conditions during transport and slaughter that reduce and minimize the adverse effects of:
- Stress
- Loading and unloading
- Mixing different groups of animals or animals of different sex
- Quality and suitability of mode of transport and handling equipment
- Temperatures and relative humidity
- Hunger and thirst; and
- The specific needs of each animal
Each animal or group of animals shall be identifiable at each step in the transport and slaughter process.
Codes of recommendations and minimum standards for the welfare of animals transported with in New Zealand must be adhered to at all times.
Identification of Livestock Products
5.7.8 Livestock and livestock products are to be identified at all stages of their production, preparation, transport and marketing.
Livestock Manure
Normal New Zealand agriculture does not involve the spreading of animal manure from animals’ housing. The provisions spelled out in this section are likely to apply only in exceptional cases.
5.7.9 To determine the appropriate density of livestock referred to above: the livestock units equivalent to 170kg of Nitrogen per year/hectare of agricultural area used for the various categories of animals. As a guide, use the figures as outlined in Section 10, Table 8. (Note: the stocking rates in Table 8 only apply to units where the spreading of animal manure from animals’ housing on to pasture is undertaken).
5.7.10 Organic-production holdings may establish cooperation with other holdings and enterprises, which comply with the provisions of this Standard, with the intention of spreading surplus manure from organic production. The maximum limit of 170 kg of Nitrogen from manure per year/hectare of agricultural area used will be calculated on the basis of all of the organic-production units involved in such a cooperation.
For additional rules specific to the USA market please refer to point 1.2 Supplementary Requirements for Organic Operators Producing for the USA Market.
5.7.11 Storage facilities for livestock manure must be of a capacity to preclude the pollution of water by direct discharge, or by run-off and infiltration of the soil.
5.7.12 To ensure sound fertilizer management, the capacity of such storage facilities for the animal manure must exceed the storage capacity required for the longest period of the year in which any application of fertilizer to the land is either inappropriate (in accordance with good agriculture practice) or when such application is prohibited.
