Live sheep and cattle export reports

Reports on sheep and cattle exported from New Zealand by sea.

Update – 16 July 2021

Exports of livestock by sea ending

Exports of livestock by sea will stop on 30 April 2023, marking the end of a transition period to wind down the trade. MPI will continue to make improvements to manage animal welfare risks during the transition period, as part of the continuous improvement programme for livestock by sea.

Voyage reports required

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) requires that a voyage report is completed for all shipments of livestock by sea that require an Animal Welfare Export Certificate (AWEC).

Reports should be submitted by the exporter to MPI within 20 working days of the vessel arriving at the destination.

MPI assesses past voyage reports when considering any future applications for an AWEC.

Find out about getting an AWEC

Voyage report guidance and template

The MPI Guidance Material for the Transport of Cattle by Sea details the 20 working days timeframe and the format for voyage reports. Section 17 of the guide has more information about the reports. Appendix 7 includes a voyage report template exporters can use.

Guidance Material for the Transport of Cattle by Sea, 2013 [PDF, 659 KB]

Voyage report summary – live sheep export

Only one large consignment (greater than 20 animals) of sheep by sea has been exported since 2008. It was a shipment of 45,112 sheep to Mexico, which departed Timaru on 11 June 2015 on the vessel Nada.

The voyage took 15 days and mortality rate in the sheep was 0.42% with 191 sheep deaths.

Read MPI’s media release about sheep unloaded in Mexico

Voyage report summaries – live cattle exports

Summaries of consignments (greater than 20 animals) of cattle exported by sea since 2015 show the mortality rates for each voyage. The summaries also include the port of export, vessel name, and the voyage length. Where significant mortalities have occurred, a short explanation of the reason is given. These shipments have resulted in MPI requesting further information from the exporter and a re-evaluation of systems that caused the deaths.

Expand All

2021

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
8 January	Napier	Yangtze Fortune	3,995	0	0.00%	21 days	China
22 January	Napier	Ocean Ute	4,407	1	0.02%	18 days	China
17 March	New Plymouth	Ocean Ute	4,276	2	0.05%	20 days	China
6 April	Napier	Dareen	4,500	1	0.02%	20 days	China
12 April	Napier	Galloway Express	2,273	2	0.09%	19 days	China
TOTAL			19,451	6	0.03%

2020

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
1 February	New Plymouth	Yangtze Fortune	3,732	2	0.05%	19 days	China
5 February	Timaru	Gelbray Express	3,520	1	0.03%	16 days	China
8 March	New Plymouth	Gelbray Express	3,347	0	0.00%	20 days	China
19 March	Timaru	Gudali Express	3,307	1	0.03%	18 days	China
23 March	Napier	Yangtze Fortune	4,447	4	0.09%	18 days	China
18 April	Napier	Gloucester Express	3,655	2	0.05%	16 days	China
22 April	New Plymouth	Yangtze Harmony	4,417	19⁽¹⁾	0.43%	16 days	China
9 July	New Plymouth	Yangtze Fortune	6,000	4	0.07%	17 days	China
11 July	Napier	Dareen	7,300	13	0.18%	20 days	China
22 July	Napier	Shorthorn Express	3,992	1	0.03%	20 days	China
4 August	Timaru	Ocean Drover	14,000	10	0.07%	16 days	China
14 August	Napier	Gulf Livestock 1 Tragically lost at sea. See note below ⁽²⁾	5,867
19 August	New Plymouth	Yangtze Harmony	5,782	49⁽³⁾	0.85%	17 days	China
25 August	Napier	Dareen	6,849	5	0.07%	20 days	China
8 November	Timaru	Ocean Drover	7,928	5	0.06%	18 days	China
9 November	Timaru	Ocean Swagman	6,127	1	0.02%	19 days	China
16 November	Napier	Yangtze Fortune	4,654	2	0.04%	17 days	China
19 November	New Plymouth	Ocean Ute	4,857	2	0.04%	18 days	China
20 December	Napier	Dareen	5,763	2	0.03%	19 days	China
22 December	New Plymouth	Yangtze Harmony	4,377	5	0.11%	21 days	China
TOTAL			109,921	128	0.12%
⁽¹⁾The exporter reported higher than expected mortalities in this voyage and attributed them to heat stress and the reoccurrence of salmonellosis. The mortalities did not reach levels that require immediate notification to MPI. ⁽²⁾The Gulf Livestock 1 was tragically lost at sea with all livestock. MPI halted exports while an independent review was carried out and introduced new requirements as a result of the review. The 5,867 cattle are not included in the calculation of mortalities or mortality rates for completed journeys. (Updated on 18 April 2021 for greater clarity) Independent review launched into animal welfare assurances for safe transport of livestock by sea MPI introduces new requirements for livestock exports following independent review ⁽³⁾ The mortalities associated with this voyage have been attributed to a number of factors including an extended period of rough conditions.

2019

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
19 March	Timaru	Ganado Express	3,164	4	0.13%	17 days	China
24 March	Napier	Girolando Express	3,229	1	0.03%	16 days	China
15 April	Napier	Gelbray Express	3,300	3	0.09%	15 days	China
21 April	Timaru	Bison Express	2,411	2	0.08%	18 days	China
4 August	Napier	Yangtze Harmony	5,400	3	0.06%	18 days	China
17 September	Napier	Yangtze Fortune	3,983	3	0.08%	18 days	China
4 October	Timaru	Brahman Express	3,791	2	0.05%	15 days	China
17 October	Napier	Ganado Express	3,313	4	0.12%	16 days	China
9 November	Timaru	Brahman Express	3,978	1	0.03%	16 days	China
27 December	Timaru	Ocean Swagman	6,700	7	0.10%	19 days	China
TOTAL			39,269	30	0.08%

2018

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
9 April	Napier	Gudali Express	3,300	3	0.09%	15 Days	China
9 July	Timaru	Ganado Express	3,678	0	0.00%	18 days	China
13 November	Napier	Gudali Express	3,810	3	0.08%	17 days	China
5 December	Timaru	Gloucester Express	3,671	2	0.05%	17 days	China
TOTAL			14,459	8	0.06%

2017

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
1 February	Napier	Awassi Express	4,431	2	0.05%	16 days	China
18 April	Napier	Ocean Ute	2,000	6	0.30%	25 days	Sri Lanka
27 April	Napier	Gudali Express	3,153	1	0.03%	16 days	China
16 May	Napier	Finola	515	0	0.00%	11 days	Papua New Guinea
15 July	Timaru	Bison Express	3,068	2	0.07%	19 days	China
22 July	Napier	Ocean Drover	6,600	7	0.11%	13 days	China
4 August	Napier	Gelbray Express	3,328	0	0.00%	18 days	China
September	Napier	Gudali Express	4,200	1	0.02%	16 days	China
TOTAL			27,295	19	0.07%

2016

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
24 February	Napier	Girolando Express	3,203	2	0.06%	16 days	China
1 April	Timaru	Dareen	4,945	4	0.08%	21 days	China
16 April	Napier	Galloway Express	2,823	2	0.07%	16 days	China
22 April	Napier	Gloucester Express	2,412	1	0.04%	15 days	China
18 May	Napier	Falconia	650	0	0.00%	21 days	Philippines
6 August	Napier	Ocean Drover	8,000	0	0.00%	18 days	China
18 October	Napier	Greyman Express	4,163	5	0.12%	16 days	China
9 November	Timaru	Girolando Express	4,295	2	0.05%	18 days	China
21 November	Timaru	Ganado Express	3,884	1	0.03%	17 days	China
16 November	Napier	Bison Express	3,111	5	0.16%	18 days	China
4 December	Napier	Galloway Express	2,735	1	0.04%	18 days	China
TOTAL			40,221	23	0.06%

2015

Date of Export	Port of Export	Vessel	Number of Cattle	Number of Mortalities	Percentage Mortality	Voyage Length	Destination
23 January	Napier	Falconia	1,877	34*	1.81%	21 days	China
4 April	Napier	Girolando Express	3,200	2	0.06%	14 days	Vietnam
27 May	Napier	Holstein Express	1,567	0	0.00%	14 days	Philippines
11 June	Timaru	Nada	3,224	1	0.03%	15 days	Mexico
13 June	Napier	Falconia	1,976	0	0.00%	24 days	China
9 July	Napier	Ocean Outback	4,381	2	0.05%	18 days	China
15 August	Timaru	Finola	1,170	4	0.34%	28 days	China
26 October	Napier	Ganado Express	3,791	5	0.13%	15 days	China
TOTAL			21,186	48	0.23%
*Comment: 32 of the 34 cattle died due to acidosis and other metabolic conditions as a result of overfeeding of concentrates.

Post-arrival reports required

Since April 2019 the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has required that a report on the welfare of exported livestock during the 30 days after arrival at the destination is completed for all shipments of livestock by sea that require an Animal Welfare Export Certificate (AWEC).

Reports should be submitted by the exporter to MPI within 60 days of the vessel arriving at the destination.

MPI assesses past reports when considering any future applications for an AWEC.

Post-arrival report summaries – live cattle exports

A summary of consignments of cattle exported by sea since April 2019 showing the mortality rates during the first 30 days after arrival of the animals in the destination country.