Union protest expected if sheep loaded

Press, 25 February 1986, Page 2

Union protest expected if sheep loaded

By

CHRIS TOBIN

in Timaru

The live sheep carrier Merino Express is. expected to start loading her second shipment for Mexico at Timaru either tomorrow or Thursday. Union protest action seems certain if loading begins. The Ministry of Agriculture regional veterinary officer, Mr H. McCallum, of Christchurch, said that today he and an engineer from the Ministry’s Animal Health Division would inspect minor modifications made to the ship’s ventilation system.

, When loading begins will depend on their recommendations from the inspection and whether the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Moyle, gives his final approval. The shipment has been approved subject to satisfactory completion of the alterations.

The Merino Express carried 17,641 sheep on her recent voyage to Mexico; of those, 433 died. The company exporting the sheep, Animal Enterprises, of Hamilton, in-

tends to load several hundred fewer sheep this time. Stock for this voyage are again being kept on a Mayfield property. Protest action by members of the New Zealand Meat Workers’ Union is certain but, according to the national secretary, Mr A. J. Kennedy, details are "highly secretive.” A Timaru meat union official said members would come to Timaru from throughout New Zealand to form a picket line where the Merino Express is berthed. Timaru is poised to play an even bigger role in live sheep shipments. Last week Saudi Arabian buyers of live sheep inspected the port to see how it could handle stock carrier vessels capable of taking between 70,000 and 80,000 sheep at a time. A Cambridge company, New Zealand Agricultural Exports, Ltd, intends to export 250,000 lambs to Saudi Arabia this year, probably through Timaru and Napier. The company plans to establish a 70ha feedlot at Rangitata for the preparation of sheep for export.