NZ Pork Disappointed With Appeal Dismissal

18 March 2013

NZ Pork Disappointed With Appeal Dismissal

The New Zealand pork industry is very disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of its appeal regarding the Ministry for Primary Industry’s (MPI) proposed new Import Health Standard (IHS), Chairman Ian Carter said today.

“We are disappointed as we have concerns about the level of risk the new IHS constitutes.”

NZPork appealed against the introduction of a new IHS relaxing the border standards for importing pig meat from countries with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS).

“The Appeal was solely focused on the process that MPI followed in coming to their decision on the IHS.”

However, the industry primarily wants confidence that MPI is accurately assessing and appropriately managing the biosecurity risks presented by importing raw pig meat from PRRS affected countries, Mr Carter said.

“We know that 100% biosecurity effectiveness is not possible, but we can strive for biosecurity measures that are effective enough to protect our economy. We cannot afford for a devastating disease like PRRS to enter New Zealand. For that reason we are and will continue to work closely with MPI on New Zealand’s biosecurity mitigation and response measures.”

Mr Carter said that he believed NZPork and MPI can continue to work effectively together.

“We have a shared objective and investment in New Zealand’s biosecurity integrity. We all want the same thing.”

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