Goat slaughter-house approved by tribunal

Press, 30 September 1988, Page 38

Goat slaughter-house approved by tribunal

PA Wellington A Greytown goat slaughter-house has been given permission to use the Islamic halal method of killing, in spite of an appeal by Kuranui College’s board of governors. The slaughter-house, the first specialist slaugh-ter-house for goats in New Zealand, will use a former dairy factory that adjoins the boundary of Kuranui College, which has more than 800 pupils. The Planning Tribunal found that the slaughterhouse would not harm the

health, safety, convenience or economic wellbeing of Greytown people. The Greytown Borough Council and Halamco Products, Ltd, will have to provide a condition requiring animals to be kept inside the buildings. Other conditions would be required concerning disposal of waste. The tribunal said the college was fearful about the psychological effects on pupils. The school principal, Miss Joye Halford, said secondary school children

were sensitive and often distressed by the slaughter of animals, no matter how humanely conducted. “I believe the siting of a goat abattoir next to the college will heighten the manifestation of the pupils’ concerns about the treatment of animals," she told the tribunal. However, the tribunal said the Kuranui College roll was largely made up of children from farming communities. Pupils knew killing animals was part of the New Zealand way of life.