18 Mar 2013

Drought not yet hitting animal welfare - vet

8:32 am on 18 March 2013

A North Island vet says the drought hasn't had too bad an impact on the welfare of animals so far, but warns that may change in winter.

Feilding-based veterinarian Trevor Cook says the sheep and cattle he's seen in the Manawatu seem to have been holding up.

He says there are no weather pressures on stock and the dry feed is just enough to keep them going.

Mr Cook says the biggest welfare issue at the moment is livestock getting trapped in dams.

He says he expects the pressure will come on stock in the winter as farmers run low on supplementary feed.