Exactly one year ago, SAFE helped expose shocking footage of dead and dying sheep on a Southland mud farm. Today, new footagefrom the very same farm shows that nothing has changed.
Filmed between 5-6 September, the footage shows a sheep likely struggling to give birth, her lamb’s head visibly stuck. The farmer pushes her to the ground, drags her through a fence, and takes her out of sight to a nearby bush. She is seen upright and alert, but moments later appears lifeless. What happened to her afterwards remains unknown.
The next day, at least two dead newborn lambs were found lying in mud.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emma Brodie says the actions of the farmer are unconscionable and may well be criminal.
“This sheep was dragged out of sight at the very moment she most needed help. Not knowing what happened next is every bit as disturbing as what we did see.”
SAFE says the incident shatters the myth that animal deaths on mud farms are simply the result of bad weather.
“This is the exact same farm where sheep were filmed dead in mud one year ago. At the time, Federated Farmers tried to excuse it as poor weather. But this year has been significantly drier – and still, animals are dying.”
“These conditions are not the product of an extreme weather event, they’re the result of a farming practice that is dangerous by design,” says Brodie.
Mud farming forces animals to live, sleep, and give birth in paddocks saturated with mud, faeces, and urine. SAFE says this is an inherent violation of New Zealand’s animal welfare laws, which require that animals’ basic needs be met, and that they be handled in ways that prevent unnecessary pain and distress.
“No animal should ever be condemned to give birth or die in mud. These conditions are completely inconsistent with the obligations set out in the Animal Welfare Act. MPI knows the risks, yet its failure to enforce the law has enabled systemic neglect on these farms,” says Brodie.
SAFE is urging the Government to take decisive action and end mud farming in Aotearoa. More than 17,000 people have already signed SAFE’s petition calling for an end to the practice.
“This is not about one bad farm, or one bad season. It is the inevitable outcome of mud farming everywhere, and it will keep happening until the Government ends it.”