Several causes of ship sheep toll, says veterinarian

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 2

Several causes of ship sheep toll, says veterinarian

PA Wellington A build-up of gases from sheep dung and high temperatures led to most of the 433 deaths in the shipment of sheep to Mexico, said a Ministry of Agriculture veterinarian yesterday. Mr Rue Davis, of Hastings, who travelled on the Merino Express which was carrying 17,461 sheep, said most deaths occurred in the lower decks, which relied for air on the ship’s ventilation system.

Mr Davis denied reports quoting him as saying the ventilation was poor.

“My comment is that the ventilation was adequate and that when the ship was last surveyed it met the necessary regulations as far as ventilation was concerned.” The sheep deaths were “multifactoral,” resulting from a combination of rising temperatures, some falling-off in the condition of the animals, the presence of gases from sheep dung and urine, and travel fatigue. These factors caused

animals to stop eating, Mr Davis said. They developed what he called anorexia milk fever syndrome. They stopped eating and lapsed into a coma induced by milk fever. Mr Davis said it was obvious that the more air going through sheep pens the better. It would keep the sheep cooler and the litter drier and that would, in turn, reduce the level of gas in the air. Large fans positioned to help air flow had been used throughout the voyage. He could not say whether more fans would have helped.

Mr Davis, who met the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Moyle, on Monday, and is preparing a written report on the voyage, said the deaths during the voyage represented a rate of 2.47 per cent. He had not yet worked out what the death rate was on the lowest decks.

Mr Davis said the sheep generally were in good condition when he inspected them all the day before they arrived in Mexico.

“Some had lost some weight and some could be classed as thin,” he said. Mr Davis said he could not comment on the number of dockside deaths after the ship had arrived at Manzanillo. “My jurisdiction ended when the sheep were taken off the ship. I had no way of monitoring what happened after that" The New Zealand advisory director of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Mr Neil Wells, said yesterday the latest report he had was that 222 animals had now died on the dockside. “That was up to Friday,” he said, “and as yet I’ve received no figures on deaths during the 750 km 16-hour truck journey from the wharf. “We expect that death rate to be high,” he said. Mr Wells agreed with Mr Davis that the ship’s ventilation facilities were up to the minimum standard.

"But the fact that there were so many deaths suggests that the minimum standards are inadequate,” he said.