Sheik Hamood Al-Ali Al-Khalaf, of Saudi sheep-farm fame, is back! And this time, he wants to export live cattle to China:
More than 5000 New Zealand dairy cows are due to be shipped to China by a Saudi businessman.
RNZ reported the Ministry for Primary Industries has received an export application for 5300 dairy breeding cattle, however an export certificate had not yet been issued.
It reported the businessman was Sheik Hamood Al-Ali Al-Khalaf, who was involved in 2015's Saudi sheep scandal, where the New Zealand Government made a multi-million dollar deal with Al-Khalaf and set up an agribusiness hub in the desert.
Worth noting is the fact that nearly all the lambs of the sheep Murray McCully bribed him with died. More importantly, his previous live animals exports from New Zealand led to 5300 sheep dying in appalling conditions - which is why we banned the practice. Al-Khalaf is basicly an animal abuser; we should not let him be involved in this trade.
And while we're at this: while the export of live animals for slaughter is banned, the penalty for doing so is derisory: a mere $10,000 fine. That seems to be... insufficient, especially compared to the potential profits involved. A higher penalty would require actual legislation, rather than merely a regulatory ban, but that seems entirely justified.
