Importation of Live Stock

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 254, 23 July 1936, Page 11

Importation of Live Stock

Sir.—The following are extracts from a letter received from Mr. E. M. Cranstone, Fordell, and which he has kindly permitted me to publish “Am glad to hear you are working to have the embargo on the direct importation of live stock from Great Britain lifted. I feel sure that if ever New Zealand gets the foot and mouth disease it will not come with a live animal. The necessity of lifting the embargo was made apparent to me when I visited the Sydney Royal Show recently. Take the Hereford cattle, for instance, in a class of 44 entries of . bulls 15 to 18 months, truly a magnificent entry of high-class animals, and these were nearly all sired by imported bulls from England. If we cannot do something we are going to be left behind by Australia. Men I talked to in Australia remarked how foolish we were to retain the embargo. _ They cannot see any danger in direct importation. From what I can gather the stud breeders are nearly all in favour of lifting the embargo and those who vote against it are men who never gave it a second thought.” Mr. Cranstone is a well-known breeder and prize-taker of Hereford cattle. Previous to his Sydney visit he was opposed to the lifting of the embargo. The Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association of New Zealand have passed a resolution by a substantial majority''that the embargo should be lifted. The imports of Hereford cattle for the twelve months previous to the annual meeting numbered 28 —the exports 8. The inference to be drawn from these figures is that in spite of heavy cost of importing under the present regulations, a large number of members of the association consider it pays them to get imported stock. The figures also seem to show that the demand overseas for our Hereford® as bred at present is very small indeed.—l am, etc., _ __ F. J. ELLIS. Bulls, July 21.