MEAT RESTRICTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24606, 14 May 1941, Page 6

MEAT RESTRICTIONS

WEIGHT LIMIT ON WETHERS OTAGO REQUEST REFUSED The Government's adherence to its earlier decision to refuse to raise the limit of 521 b imposed on the killing of wethers is announced by the Minister of Marketing, Mr J. G. Barclay, in a letter to Mr R. S. Thompson, Otago provincial president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. Recently Mr Thompson made further representations to the Minister to raise the limit, stating that adherence to it would penalise Otago hill-country farmers, and he has now received the following communication from the Minister:—

" The price of prime fat wethers on the local market is fair and, considering the heavy killings of sheep in both the North and South Islands this season, the Government does not consider it fair that it should be asked to freeze second quality for which it has no sale. The killings this season will be far above normal. This ration up to 521 b was permitted to give hill-countrv men some relief, but not to allow them to kill off all their wethers, both first and second quality. "It was suggested in the first place that we should allow in only first quality wethers up to any weight, but the Government felt that this would be hard on hill-country men who had mostly second quality stock. Now, when we have let them have some relief you suggest that they should get the lot away. I am sorry, but the Government cannot see its way to do Commenting on the Minister's letter, Mr Thompson said that Mr Barclay by refusing to raise the weight limit on wethers, was penalising Otago hillcountry farmers who were in noway responsible for the increased killings in the South Island. It was difficult, he added to follow the Minister s reasoning in the matter, and the hill-country farmers were simply left with a feeling of frustration.