Rural Affairs
Issue No. 20 - December/January 2005
Animal welfare and biodiversity opportunities on Southeast agenda
The current hot issue of animal welfare, and the opportunity for farmers to get involved in biodiversity trading to offset environmental levies featured at SAFF’s South Eastern regional meeting held at the Lucindale Country Club in November.
SAFF South Eastern Regional Board Representative Kay Hocking said the recent prominent campaign by an international animal rights group had prompted farmers to take a public stance in promoting their good record in animal welfare.
“Campaigns such as the one run by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) can be very destructive as they tend to spread misleading information about what is really happening on most farms,” Kay says.
“We need to unite to combat any attempts to erode our livestock industries by these extremists, so I expect this issue will provoke some interesting discussion at the meeting.”
Kay says the introduction this year of the biodiversity trading program to offset landholder levies used to fund the Upper South East Drainage Scheme was an exciting partnership between SAFF and the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation.
SAFF is hosting a team of environmental officers who will work with landholders to assess the biodiversity assets in the region. This will result in a detailed map of the range and quantity of native vegetation and biodiversity in the region. Landowners involved with the program will share their experiences.
The guest speakers a...
