Horse group says DoC to profit from Kaimanawa muster

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 670, 21 January 1997, Page 1

Horse group says DoC to profit from Kaimanawa muster

But exporter claims meat is worth little Claims that the Department of Conservation's plans to capture up to 1500 Kaimanawa wild horses are driven by a motive to make a profit don't stack up, if the views of a horse meat exporter are valid. Paramount Exports general manager Ron Russell has said the horses are small and have little commercial value in terms of meat processing. He said at a previous muster horses were bought for less than $100 and that it would cost DoC a lot more than that to rdund them up. DoC plans to muster up to $1500 horses in autumn and sell them to new homes and send the rest to abattoirs. DoC adversary Ian Shearer, patron of the International League for the Protection of Horses, said earlier that DoC's plan would see the market flooded which would ensure the horses would go to the abattoirs. "DoC wants to make a profit by selling the Kaimanawa wild horses to meat buyers," he said.