Off-Farm Handling of Home-Killed Meat

Agriculture Minister Lockwood Smith has not and will not support any proposal to introduce a blanket ban on off-farm handling of home-killed meat.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry (MAF) is currently drafting an Animal Products Bill to replace the current Meat Act. The bill is scheduled to be introduced this year.

MAF officials are currently preparing advice for Dr Smith and what should be included in the bill's risk management system. In order to get feedback from farmers, industry and the public on which to base its advice to Dr Smith, MAF released a discussion paper in early July and released one option as a preliminary policy position in early August.

MAF's preliminary policy position has caused concern that off-farm handling of home-killed meat may be banned.

Dr Smith stressed today that MAF's preliminary policy position is just that - preliminary - and does not represent Government or MAF policy.

Government policy will be determined when Dr Smith shortly takes a paper to Cabinet on the issue.

"I will not be signing any Cabinet paper which recommends a blanket ban on off-farm handling of home-killed meat," he said.