Three-way animal welfare MOU
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for animal welfare activities has been under development for the past 18 months. The three parties involved are Biosecurity New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Group (AWG) and Compliance and Enforcement Group (CEG), and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority Verification Agency (VA).
The MOU documents agreed accountabilities and commitments between the VA and BNZ for the ongoing provision of animal welfare activities in New Zealand. The specific topics covered by the MOU are:
- accountabilities
- training and appointments
- standards and outcomes
- verification
- non-compliances and offences
- CEG referrals and support
- reporting
- responsibilities
- costs.
The MOU has many benefits to MAF, including:
- It establishes a clear framework for reporting channels to ensure that all animal welfare investigations performed by the VA will be reported in MAF’s annual statistics.
- It facilitates a two-way referral system between the VA and the CEG for animal welfare investigations and responses. This is significant for the CEG, as it means they can have access, under agreed criteria and procedures, to the VA’s resource of about 240 veterinarians.
- It provides VA veterinarians with a new opportunity to utilise their expertise: this in turn can lead to greater job enrichment.
The MOU was signed 7 November 2006, and will provide the platform for better coordination and consistency of animal welfare activities between the three parties. Regular liaison meetings are planned to agree procedures to deliver each party’s respective commitments and responsibilities.
Roger Poland, Senior Adviser, Animal Welfare, phone 04 894 0372, roger.poland@maf.govt.nz
Page last updated: 30 April 2008