Call for U.S. probe into sheep deaths

Press, 2 November 1989, Page 1

Call for U.S. probe into sheep deaths

By

DAVID LUCAS

S and NZPA rt tAiit nn th.

Pressure is being put on the United States Government for an official inquiry into the deaths of» 57 sheep from New Zealand on a chartered Boeing 707 at Honolulu.

The sheep allegedly suffocated when the aircraft was delayed by United States customs officials, who searched the aircraft with sniffer dogs. The crew said they were not allowed to open the rear cargo door or connect air-conditioning units to cool the animals. Instead of a routine 50-minute refuelling stop, the aircraft was delayed for one hour 40 minutes, it is claimed.

Mr Neil Wells, the South Pacific regioijal director for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said the Humane Society of, America would make an official protest to the United States Government over the treatment of the sheep. The sheep were part of a cargo of 197 Sheep, 88 calves and 16 horses being flown from New Zealand to. England. A veterinarian for MAFQuaIJn

Wellington, Ms Judith Chaffe, said New Zealand agriculture officials had no jurisdiction over the incident because it occurred outside New Zealand.

Reports yesterday from American agriculture and customs department ■ officials gave, conflicting accounts of the incident, but a written statement from the aircraft’s pilot, Captain Brian Martin, said crew members were not allowed to open the-aircraft rear doors or to turn on the airconditioning. The main cargo door at the front of the aircraft was opened against the wishes of the security officers, said Captain Martin. Security forces had surrounded the aircraft on arrival in Honolulu and prevented the crew from leaving for nearly an hpur. The aircraft was searched i by security officers and sniffer dogs, he said. The Press Association reports that the United States Customs Service has denied responsibility for the deaths. /

The service’s public affairs director, Mr Dick Weart, said a veterinary officer who looked |at

the animals before they left Honolulu “reported everything normaj.”

“We deal with livestock all the time and we regret the jheep died,” Mr Weart said.

But United States Customs was not responsible for looking after the sheep on the tarmac at Honolulu.

Customs officers spent only 39 minutes inspecting the aircraft after a tip that it might be carrying contraband. Although the sheep were tightly packed in the aircraft, “we didn’t see any that were dead.”

A United States Department of Agriculture veterinarian inspected the sheep at Anchorage, Alaska, when the aircraft touched down there, and he had \also not reported any deaths, Mr 'Weart said.

However, Mr Wells said he had seen a copy of a signal sent by the captain after the aircraft left Honolulu reporting that dead animals were on board. This showed that the sheep had died before the aircraft reached Alaska.