Newstalk ZB
Warning: this story contains details of the killing of pigs, which may be disturbing to some people. An animal products officer happened to be driving by a four-hectare farm when he noticed a pig being slaughtered on the property. He approached the man, farm manager Onani Finau, who was with a group of men and the dead pig. Finau told the officer the home kill had been authorised by his boss, former All Black Robert Ngaro Kururangi. Kururangi had leased the land to farm pigs, and later told Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) officers that the pig was a gift for a family friend’s tangi and he had no intention of killing the animals for money. But, between 2021 and 2023, MPI sent undercover officers to Kururangi’s farm and were successfully able to buy pigs. Kururangi facilitated the sales and Finau slaughtered the animals, hitting them with a metal pole before stabbing the pigs in front of the fake customers. They even offered the option to prepare the slain pigs on a spit. This week, Kururangi was sentenced in Manukau District Court for one representative charge of offering to sell unregulated animal products and two of failing to comply with MPI notices. MPI food safety deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle said Kururangi’s operation was operating without “vital checks and balances” to “keep consumers safe”. “While someone buying one of these pigs may have considered it a great deal, their health was potentially put at risk because of the pair’s illegal behaviour,” Arbuckle said. He said the majority of operators in New Zealand follow the rules, understanding the importance of doing so to keep consumers safe. “When we find evidence of people deliberately flouting the law, we take action to protect consumers as in this case.” Robert Kururangi, then aged 66 years in 2023. Photo / File A pig for a tangi Kururangi leased four hectares of land on Hamlin Rd in Ardmore, South Auckland, where he farmed pigs. In April 2021, an MPI animal products officer was driving through Ardmore when he spotted a home kill taking place on the farm. He stopped and spoke to Finau, who was with a group of men and a dead pig. Finau told the officer the pig was being killed for a tangi and all the pigs on the farm belonged to Kururangi, who had allowed the pig to be killed. The officer provided Finau with educational material about the Code of Welfare for pigs and a guide to home kill and hunting and told him it was an offence to sell unregulated meat. A week later, MPI returned to the farm and spoke to Kururangi, who admitted he had allowed the home kill to take place as it was for a family friend’s tangi. He was also handed educational material and told it was an offence to sell unregulated meat. He claimed not to be processing pigs for money and was aware of the consequences if he did so in future. Offering pig on-a-spit and slaughtered on the spot In September 2022 MPI began an investigation into the sale of unregulated meat in South Auckland. That same month, an undercover MPI officer went to Kururangi’s farm. An officer asked to buy a pig and the former All Black said the pigs on site would not be ready until the following month, but he had some more coming from Hamilton the following day. Those pigs would cost $250 each and could be cooked on a spit for the officer, Kururangi offered. The next day the undercover officers returned to the Hamlin Rd farm. An officer spoke to Finau this time and selected a pig, which Finau hit on the head with a metal pole and stabbed with a knife, killing it. The undercover officer paid $230 cash for the slaughtered pig. Pigs, flying out the door A month later, another undercover officer called Kururangi, asking to buy a pig cooked on the spit. Kururangi told the officer the pigs would be ready the next day and Finau would be at the farm. The following day the officer went to the farm and spoke to Kururangi. Kururangi told the officer Finau was not there to facilitate the pig on a spit sale, the agree...
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