FAQs related to Standards and Regulations

Charges apply for the initial and ongoing audit of facilities. The charge is made up of administrative, on-site inspection and travel expenses. All MAFBNZ charges, except travel, will be recovered on an hourly basis.

There is also an annual fee of $160 for all transitional facilities or containment facilites.

Depending on the facility and if risk goods are present:

If a facility is able to control access (eg customer and couriers are coming to one area to pick-up and drop-off items) then a visitors book might not be necessary.

In general, there should be no public access where uncleared risk goods are held.

A sealed hard stand area should be big enough to have a 3m clearance at the front for unloading and 1m clearance around the sides and back of the container so a check by an Accredited Person can easily take place. 3m around the entire container should be kept clear from vegetation, rubbish or debris.

If you have an equivalent system in place to effectively mitigate biosecurity risk, contact your local Biosecurity Inspector who can assess whether or not it is appropriate.

To gain or maintain approval in a rural area you may need to develop specialised systems that can more effectively deal with biosecurity risks. For example, if you do not have access to council sewers then you may need to find another approved means of dealing with waste water if it is used to clean sea containers or other risk material. Contact an Inspector for more details.

Facilities are encouraged to have internet access on site as this will allow for ease of communication with MAF. It will also allow facilities importing sea containers to report contaminated sea container log sheets using the online system at the MAF Approved Transitional Facility and Accredited Person Site .

The types of facilities covered under the new standard are facilities previously approved under the following standards

• 152.04.03f - Requirements for holding and processing facilities
• BNZ STD TFSCO - requirements for transitional facilities for sea containers
• PBC-NZ-STD-FACIL-FLIGHT – requirements for flight kitchens (transitional facilities)
• PBC-NZ-STD-FACIL-REFUSE – requirements for incineration/ sterilisation facilities for quarantine refuse or uncleared risk goods
• 154.02.18- transitional facilities for animal products
• 154.02.17 – transitional facilities for biological products ONLY where the facility is receiving and holding the product, not processing the product.

Operating manual templates will be made available on the MAFBNZ website. They provide a basis only for the development of your operating manual, because it must be specific to your facility. The Operator training course also provides information and help with development of an operating manual.

The examples in the guidance document have been provided as a set of acceptable solutions to meeting the Standard. If you do not want to follow the solutions as provided, you may develop your own procedures tailored to your facility. However these must be deemed acceptable by an Inspector before they are put into use at a facility.

The TF Gen guidance document provides ways to meet the requirements of the Standard. If the examples shown in the guidance document are not appropriate for a particular facility, then they may devise their own equivalent systems to suit their specific needs. However, any equivalence systems must meet the same biosecurity outcome as examples given, and must also be approved by MAFBNZ prior to use. If you have developed a customised system, contact your local Biosecurity Inspector who can assess whether or not it is appropriate.

If you are receiving sea containers then you will need access to sufficient numbers of Accredited Persons (APs) to check sea containers at a transitional facility. More information on AP training and who to contact to organise this training can be found on the list of providers for Biosecurity Awareness Training for Accredited Persons.

Under the TF Gen, if you are an Operator of more than one facility, the facility where you don't have direct day to day management should have a deputy Operator. Deputy operators are also required to take the Operator training course.

Where an Operator is intending to be away for any length of time, and a facility is receiving risk goods during this time of absence, the facility may require a Deputy Operator. If volumes of risk goods being received are low and an Operator is still contactable (eg by phone) then a deputy may not be necessary. Check with an Inspector if you are unsure.

Operator training needs to be refreshed every four years.

All existing and new Operators and Deputy Operators approved or audited against the TF Gen standard must take the Operator training course.

There are three Operator training providers, for details of Operator training go to the New Training Requirements for Operators of Transitional Facilities page.

MAFBNZ currently has two different sets of training requirements for

• Accredited Persons for sea container checks
• Operators of transitional facilities

As they have different purposes, the training is not interchangeable and one course does not replace the other.

An Accredited Person checks sea containers on arrival at a transitional facility and must take the AP training course.

A facility Operator is the person whose name appears on the MAFBNZ Transitional Facility Operator approval certificate and is legally responsible for the management of the transitional facility. They must take the Operator training course.

To avoid confusion, when making a booking please ensure you are attending the correct training for your role. Also be sure to ask for a training location nearest to you.

If you are already an Operator approved under previous relevant Standards you do not have to submit the police check form. These are required for brand new Operator and Deputy Operator approvals once the standard is enforced.

Send the Consent to Disclosure of Information (police check) form with your application documents to the relevant MAF office. For office contact details around the country go to the Operations and Facilities Group Contact Details page.

A clearly visible sign (or signs) will be required to let people know they are entering an approved Transitional Facility area, and only permitted persons are allowed access. They can be placed where they are most appropriate to your facility (eg entry ways). This will be checked by your MAFBNZ Inspector. An example sign is shown below.

The new Standard is expected to be implemented in February 2009.

Starting February 2009, Inspectors will audit facilities against the new standard. Inspectors will issue corrective action request(s) (CARs) for facilities that do not meet the new requirements. CARs are expected to be followed-up within the timeframe agreed upon with the Inspector.

Your local MAFBNZ Inspector will be available to help you through this process and answer any questions you may have.

The Animal Welfare Compliance Plan (292 KB) was developed in 2010 to improve compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (1999). MAF and a range of other organisations are currently implementing initiatives under the plan to support those who genuinely want to comply with their animal welfare obligations, and to encourage or compel those who do not.

The proposed animal welfare strategy will support and complement these initiatives, but we expect it to focus more broadly on New Zealand’s animal welfare system as a whole.

A strategy and proposed changes to legislation will be finalised and provided to Cabinet in the second half of 2012. From there, Cabinet will determine the timeline for changes to be approved and implemented.

It is expected that strategy and legislation option documents will be released during a public consultation phase in the first half of 2012. Everyone will have the opportunity to express their views on the development of the strategy and legislative changes, and recommendations provided to the Government will take account of these views.

The advisory group is made up of representatives with a range of animal welfare perspectives, including on farm; processing; consumer; science; veterinarian; animal advocacy; and marketing and trade perspectives.

MAF is leading the development of the strategy and legislative amendment proposals. An advisory group of representatives with a range of perspectives on animal welfare matters has been set up to provide expertise as proposals are developed. The advisory group will meet regularly from July 2011.

Key partners and stakeholders involved in animal welfare in New Zealand will also be contacted to gain an understanding of their views about the system and the gaps that a strategy needs to fill.

There will be a public consultation phase in 2012 where everyone will have the opportunity to express their views on the development of the strategy and the proposed legislative changes. Recommendations provided to the Government will take account of these views.

Work on the strategy will support a concurrent review of animal welfare legislation – in particular the Animal Welfare Act 1999. The Act has functioned well to support New Zealand’s animal welfare system to date, but requires review in some areas. Linking the legislation review with the strategy development will help ensure that the legislation fully supports New Zealand’s overarching animal welfare strategy.

A national strategy for New Zealand’s animal welfare system is being developed because, although our current animal welfare system has served us well, there is no explicit strategy setting out New Zealanders’ expectations for animal welfare. As society evolves, and animal welfare challenges continue to arise, the need for such a strategy increases, to help guide decisions and clarify the vision for New Zealand’s animal welfare system.

This strategy will also provide an opportunity to formalise the animal welfare systems currently in place and look at the roles and responsibilities of Government and other organisations so that we all have a shared understanding of how our systems can be improved over time.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, people must attend to the physical, health and behavioural needs of animals in their care. These needs are further detailed in codes of welfare. Codes of welfare also contain minimum standards, including minimum standards on the provision of shade and shelter.

The provision of shade and shelter has important economic and practical implications for farmers. The issue of shade and shelter is not clear cut. Shelter and shade may be provided in a number of ways including the use of topographical features such as gullies or hollows (of adequate depth), natural features such as stands of trees or scrub, hedges or shelter belts, or artificial structures such as buildings, hay stacks, etc.

There is ongoing research on shade and shelter in New Zealand conditions, and NAWAC will be studying this research in order to make practical recommendations in new codes of welfare for farmed animals.

New Zealand exports a wide range of species including horses, deer, cats, dogs, bees, goats, day-old chicks, ferrets, wallabies, embryos and semen. Livestock are especially sought after because of their high genetic value and because New Zealand is free of most major exotic diseases. Animals are shipped live because they are used for breeding, or for slaughter in the country of arrival. Groups that are too large for transport by air may be taken by sea.

New Zealand is currently not shipping any cattle for slaughter, and the export of live sheep for slaughter has dwindled since the 1990s, with the last shipment being in 2003. It does, however, export cattle and sheep for breeding.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, all animals for export (unless specifically exempted) must be issued with an Animal Welfare Export Certificate (AWEC), which takes account of animal welfare requirements and covers compliance with standards.

An experienced New Zealand stockman must accompany shipments of cattle. Some shipping companies also send veterinarians. All shipments are inspected by a MAF veterinarian before they depart.

A shipping report is completed at the end of each voyage which records any deaths, the weather, feed and water supplies, and any issues which affected the welfare of the animals.

Sea-bound shipments have additional requirements in the Maritime Rules, which are monitored by the Maritime Safety Authority. These cover ventilation, feed and water, space requirements, pen height requirements etc.

As a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), New Zealand has certain obligations under WTO agreements. New Zealand cannot prohibit the export of animals to other WTO member countries on the basis of management procedures in the country of importation.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is currently developing a code of welfare for the shipping of livestock.

After consultation the Government has decided to restrict the sale and use of leg-hold traps in New Zealand. New regulations came into effect on 1 January 2008.

The requirements for keeping pigs are described in the code of welfare for pigs.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), which recommends codes of welfare to the Minister of Agriculture, looked at conflicting evidence for and against various production systems for pigs when it was considering this code.

It decided that the current alternatives to these systems do not guarantee better welfare for pigs and may, in fact, reduce the welfare of the sows and/or their piglets. Alternative systems need very careful management to ensure adequate animal welfare.

Although pigs can be free to roam and perform normal behaviours in alternative systems, they can have some problems for the welfare of pigs. For example, aggression can be a problem in group-housed pigs and piglets can be crushed when sows lie down.

NAWAC will review its decisions in 2009.

For detail on the reasons for its recommendation, see the report (173 KB) with the code of welfare for pigs.

For detail on the ways in which NAWAC makes decisions on codes of welfare, see the NAWAC guidelines.

The requirements for keeping egg laying hens are described in the code of welfare for layer hens. The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), which recommends codes of welfare to the Minister of Agriculture, looked at conflicting evidence for and against various production systems for egg laying hens when it was considering this code.

It decided that based on the limited information available about current alternatives to cages, it cannot be concluded that these alternatives guarantee better overall welfare for hens.

Alternative systems need very careful management to ensure adequate animal welfare. Although hens are free to roam and perform normal behaviours in these systems, cages provide some advantages over them. For example, hens are not exposed to adverse weather conditions or predators (eg harrier hawks) and fighting, dust, disease from faecal material, ammonia levels, and the cleanliness of eggs and birds is more easily managed.

NAWAC will review its decision in 2009. For detail on the reasons for its recommendation, see the reports (first (133 KB) and second (263 KB)) with the code of welfare for layer hens. For detail on the ways in which NAWAC makes decisions on codes of welfare, see the NAWAC guidelines.