Backyard blackmarket butchers blasted by Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers Rural Butchers, following its annual conference in Auckland, is asking for enforcement action be taken against blackmarket backyard butchers.



“Someone is going to get very sick unless real effort is put into combating rustlers and the backyard blackmarket butchers they operate with,” says Mike Hanson, Federated Farmers Rural Butchers chairperson.



“As a dual operator butcher myself, being both a retail butcher and a home kill operator, I work under strict regulations to protect my customers and to ensure the animals we work with are treated humanely.



“Rural butchers are trained professionals but these untrained cowboys really concern us. The Animal Products Act, food safety regulations and codes of animal welfare are all there for good reason.



“These cowboys operate under no code, no standard and ultimately, someone will get very sick as they butcher livestock of unknown pedigree to feed a blackmarket.



“Homekill is allowed under the Animal Products Act but only for the consumption of the animal’s owner and cannot be sold. Even then, they must have owned the animal for the past 28-days, which corresponds with the withholding period for common animal remedies.



“I have little doubt that rustling, much of it unreported, is linked to organised crime because you need a fairly sophisticated operation. Wherever there’s a legitimate market you often get a blackmarket.



“The people who actively trade in blackmarket meat are as guilty in my book as the people who steal farm animals. They need to be caught and punished as well.



“What Rural Butchers wish to see is a concerted effort involving Federated Farmers, council environmental health inspectors, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and even the Police.



“We must start by enforcing the legislation we have and that’s a key message Federated Farmers Rural Butchers wishes to get out.



“It may also be a case of looking at legislation to remove some of the incentives, which may be driving these blackmarket backyard butchers in the first place,” Mr Hanson concluded.