VALE tracks live export ships as they ply their ugly trade and we have a few questions:
1) what was the previously troubled Ocean Swagman doing at Port Izmir (Turkey)....didnt depart for 9 days, then went out, then came back, then went out...... 2) What has delayed the Devon Express? It left Townsville on the 17th May, due Vietnam on 28th May....and still not arrived as far as we know. Thus far the voyage has been 16 days and almost certainly with no vet onboard (the latest Export Advisory Notice doesnt require vets to be present on voyages over 10 days)...concerning....!
1 Comment
Mining billionaire (ie someone who perhaps understands money!), said "live animal exports should become a last resort if WA wanted to maximise the value of its farm sector." He stated: "Australia wins and the consumer wins."
If one of our richest businessman says that, when are the productivity commission going to investigate live export and what it really COSTs the Australian economy? Ref: The Weekend West May 28-29, News p11 Whilst Mr Turnbull contradicted his deupty: "there is no link between the Indonesian Government and people smuggling" he commented "Many Australians, most Australians I think, were horrified by that live cattle ban".
That is is an outrageous comment Mr Turnbull. Most Australians were outraged by the cruelty NOT the trade suspension (it was never a ban). The polls at the time indicated that the overall majority of Australians at the time supported a ban of the whole trade (not just suspension of trade to Indonesia). An independent poll commissioned by VALE and conducted by UMR in 2015 indicate that MOST Australians (59%; 56% regional, 61% metropolitan) still disapprove of the live export trade. "Might I remind you that when we closed down the live animal export industry, it was around about the same time that we started seeing a lot of people arriving in boats in Australia."
And so says Barnaby Joyce, our Deputy PM, in perhaps one of the more bizarre comments ever made about live export. Whoever would have thought boatloads of cattle would be such successful barriers to that veritable navy of refugee boats that Indonesia was just waiting to launch to attack Australia? As Labor backbencher Nick Champion told Sky News: "It's hard to believe this man is deputy prime minister." Well there are plenty of facts and figures flying around the new boat including:"More than 100 fans are onboard, with a 320 PAT (pen air turnover) refreshing air continuously where livestock are housed."
There may be fans and it may be better designed (we can only hope) but its definitely NOT air-conditioned comfort....we are only talking fans! And lets look at the really telling figures when it comes to animal welfare...including ventilation...."With a 23,500 square meter carrying capacity it can transport ...75,000 sheep". Doesnt take Einstein to figure out that that is over 3 sheep to the square metre (cut out 1 square metre, cram in 3 and a bit sheep and just try it for size.....thats what both the government and the exporters think is fair. Matters little whether it is an old ship or a new ship or what the PAT is .....with this stocking density, animal welfare is severely compromised...and heat stress can and will occur. Wellard has just announced the launch of its new super-sized cattle boat, set to take Australian cattle to China. Southern cattle presumably as its base is to be Portland. Yippee….the National cattle herd is at an all time low and now we will be ramping up further exodus from our shores….at the cost of local processing, local jobs…oh and with a few animal welfare issues. Thanks Wellard…. Wonder if our domestic meat prices will rise…..whilst our abattoir workers head off to Centrelink….just a thought. And……whilst we busily deplete our National herd, we have caused oversupply in Vietnam…that's clever. Then the final insult. If it wasn't bad enough exporting sheep to Pakistan so they could be slaughtered and sent off to the Middle East as chilled/frozen product (because the Middle East countries do actually have refrigeration), now we have Thailand set to do the same with cattle. WHAT IS WRONG WITH AUSTRALIA? Other countries see the benefit of slaughtering animals and exporting chilled/frozen product…..we are so stupid, that we are just sending them the raw materials…..the iron-ore issue all over again. We have a 10 billion dollar export meat industry ….are we going to erode that for the sake of a <1 billion dollar LE trade? Indonesia's Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) penalized 32 Indonesian cattle importer and beef feedlot companies with a combined IDR 107 billion (approx. AUS 10.4 million) in fines on grounds of the practice of unfair competition. These 32 companies have been found guilty of forming a cartel with the aim of controlling local beef prices, curtailing beef imports, and curtailing the distribution of beef at the expense of the Indonesian consumer, particularly in the Greater Jakarta area.The companies vigorously deny it BUT...thats the nature of LE....prone to all the vagaries and whims of politics.
AND....then just to make matters worse, the Indonesians are going to be importing Indian beef in Ramadan. Did Australia just miss out on a meat market? NT News on April 15 2016 ran the story of former bankrupt and failed entrepreneur, Luke Butler, who claims he wants to buy some of the NT's most profitable cattle stations.
Mr Butler's scheme appears to offer Asian investors a way to access vast land holdings whilst avoiding the requirements of the Foreign Investment Review Board. The scheme would make him one of Australia's biggest cattle breeders and exporters according to the NT News. So what's the catch? Mr Butler was described in the book King of Stings, on Australian swindlers as "one of the great contemporary financial conmen". Who knows what this will mean for the cattle. AUSTRALIAN Livestock Exporters’ Council chief executive Alison Penfold has resigned. Ms Penfold, who has headed up the industry organisation since February 2012, will finish in the role at the end of July. Apparently, Ms Penfold has decided “to pursue other professional opportunities”. Perhaps she got sick of trying to raise the bar in a recalcitrant industry.
One wonders who is the next in line. Speaking at the livestock export industry conference in Darwin last week, World Organisation for Animal Health director general Dr Bernard Vallat apparently said Australia’s investments in improving animal welfare were welcome, and should be taken to the rest of the world. “Governments, the private sector and international organisations can work together to successfully address societal expectations for animal welfare.”
With respect Dr Vallat, they COULD, if they CHOSE work together but at the moment, even the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) dont meet basic societal expectations in this country. They certainly dont meet expectations of many vets either, including many of those that work on ships....not that the government listens to veterinary advice....well what would vets know about livestock? As for slaughter, OIE (or otherwise) in distant countries....it would only meet the societal expectations in societies that have no animal welfare legislation. |
Archives
June 2024
Categories |