Killing Quotas Attacked

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 1

Killing Quotas Attacked

The national interest is not being served by the application of daily killing quotas which have prevented Canterbury freezing works from full use of their plants, thinks the South Island Freezing Works Investigation Committee.

The committee’s report, released yesterday, says that if quotas had not been applied and stock had been available, the Canterbury works could have killed an additional 900,000 tread of stock in the main part of the 1964-65 killing season.

“Freezing works in the Canterbury district are subject to a daily killing quota applied by the Freezing Workers’ Union,” the report states.

"When an increase in the quota is wanted, freezing companies are required to negotiate and get agreement with the union concerned.

“This quota principle applies to the increased killing capacity recently provided, and will also apply to further planned expansion of fhe Canterbury district works. “The committee repeats the view expressed in 1961 that any substantial unused killing capacity should first be used before considering embarking on the building of a new works to serve the same area.

CAPITAL OUTLAY “This unused killing capacity represents considerable capital outlay, and, in the view of the committee, the national interest is not being served when the application of killing quotas results in freezing companies being un-

able to fully utilise their plants.

“At the time of writing this report (January), the quota is denying companies the use of killing capacity totalling 3800 carcases a day. “The Burgess Patrick report (made in 1965) shows that during the 1964-65 season the Canterbury works as a group worked on six Saturday mornings, five of them being consecutive. In some individual cases, however, works killed on 11 Saturdays. This means that on these occasions the works killed to the artificial capacity imposed by the quotas requiring killing on a Saturday in an attempt to cope with the demand. “Outside the peak period, November 24 to January 31, there was unused killing capacity totalling 17 days between November 10 and March 29, which is the main killing season. This means that if stock had been available during this period, the works could have killed an additional 900,000 head of stock. MORE CAPACITY “This applies to the capacity as imposed by the quotas. However, if there were no quotas, the Canterbury works had the capacity to handle an additional 380,000 head of stock between November 10 and March 29. on the basis of 100 days at 3800 a day. “Thus, with space not used because of lack of stock and further space not used because of quotas, the Canterbury works could have killed a further 1,280,000 sheep and lambs during the main killing season. “The committee appreciates that this is the ideal use of the works, an ideal which in practice cannot be achieved under our breeding and fattening programme, which results in a short but heavy peak demand for killing space. “Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that during the 196465 season, there was considerable unused killing capacity in the Canterbury works.”