Copeland Gordon: Veterinarians Bill — Third Reading 
Copeland Gordon: Veterinarians Bill — Third Reading 
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GORDON COPELAND (United Future) 
: 
 I would like to begin this speech on the third reading of the Veterinarians Bill from United Future’s point of view by saying that I agree with the sentiments that Sue Kedgley has just expressed in relation to the way in which we look after animals such as pigs and chickens in this country. I think if I had been born a chicken I would have preferred to be able to range around in the open air from time to time and do all the things that chickens do. They do a bit of scratching hunting and pecking. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Keeping chickens sometimes reminds me a little of Parliament because chickens certainly are quick to find a pecking order. They get rather peckish towards each other on many occasions which bring to mind some of the other images that members sometimes see in this House. I think similarly if I was born a pig I would like to do my share of the rolling in mud the rooting and so forth instead of being confined in a little cage with a concrete floor. As our society comes to understand more and more about animals I would imagine that this House will address those issues in due time. So I wish Sue Kedgley all the best with those endeavours. 
In my electorate of Rongotai we have a very large veterinary practice called— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Your electorate? The member is Annette King. 
GORDON COPELAND 
: Well it is my electorate. I live there I work there and I do good things for it. So I am very proud— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: She’s a King—what does that make the member? 
GORDON COPELAND 
: The Hon Trevor Mallard would know more about that subject perhaps than others in the House would but I do not think we will go there at the moment. I did not say I was the member for Rongotai; I just said it is my electorate and it is where I contested the election. But we have a wonderful veterinary practice there called Animalz which has started a whole new chain of large veterinary practices around the country. Allan Probert who is the dynamic entrepreneurial businessman behind it has made it into a great success. It is like a cross between a zoo and a veterinary practice because there are so many different animals there. 
I think that for whatever reason the number of cats in New Zealand now vastly exceeds the number of dogs. That is certainly true in Miramar. When I go for my nightly strolls I have a lot of fun stopping now and then to stroke various moggies that want to accompany me down the street and up the trails in my beautiful suburb. I can tell people on authority that I have not seen a cat come out of Peter Jackson’s house yet but I walk past that house every night. So I offer my congratulations today to Peter Jackson on the very sensitive way that he has portrayed a gorilla in a certain movie that premiered here in Wellington last night. 
I would also like to make a comment about the general welfare of animals in this country. United Future has a policy which we will be progressing under our confidence and supply agreement to do with the planting of trees on marginal strips around rivers and lakes. We call it a “no regrets” policy because it has so many great benefits to the country. Trees live on nitrates so we deal with nitrate runoffs. We add a lot more to our clean green image and we also provide more shelter for animals—which brings me back to the bill. I think it is true that veterinarians should have a very broad view of the welfare of animals. It is good to see some trends emerging in our farming practices where that is also being taken into account and people are beginning to realise it. 
Let me give an example. During the election campaign I spent quite a bit of time in Southland—and I know my colleague Eric Roy will know something about this—which had the best lambing season over the last spring that it has ever had. One of the things Southland has done as a new practice is to minimise human interaction with ewes during the lambing process. Instead farmers are leaving a cluster of tussock in their paddocks because they have found that ewes like to tuck under those tussocks at the time they are lambing. Without human beings being involved farmers are finding the outcomes are very good. It is also adding to productivity because of course it reduces the cost of human intervention. So I think there will be some good spin-offs for animals coming from that process of planting trees. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: There’s been a bit of modification there too—the sheep are nearly cows. 
GORDON COPELAND 
: Oh there is a little bit of genetic modification going on there as well. I have not actually seen a species quite like that yet. I think I can picture it though; we would have to milk it on our knees—which is probably not a bad thing for those who pray in the morning. 
So for all those sorts of reasons I have the pleasure of signalling United Future’s support for the Veterinarians Bill in its third reading and I wish the vets in this country all the very best in the important work that they do for the welfare of millions of our animals. 
Bill read a third time.