Certainly an animal welfare disaster when 59 out of 200 or so cattle die during a Bass Strait crossing in an open boat in high seas. However, possibly worse still if one looks at the general picture....ie were these non-prime beef cattle (eg in poor condition after the Tassie drought) or were they "cast for age" dairy cows, too old to be milked any more?
Greenham's website states that its Tongala plant in Victoria is Non-Halal and processes mainly cast-for-age dairy cows for export to the USA. Difficult to comprehend that the most "hard-working" of all Australian cattle, with the most human contact, could end their days rewarded with a rough sea crossing before they get slaughtered...for hamburger meat! VALE maintains that animals should be slaughtered as close to the point of production as possible.
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So, the cracks are finally appearing. Domestic processor Teys Australia has laid some blame on live export for lack of processing cattle. No surprises, ALEC arent happy. But given the number of jobs at stake and the value adding of domestic processing, we believe it is time that the Productivity Commission investigate the true worth of live export to the Australian economy.
Check the photo of livestock transport on the Searoad Mersey operating out of Devonport on 30.3.2015. Apparently it is fine just to leave sheep trucks parked on this unacceptable angle onboard. Whilst admittedly it makes little difference whilst sailing (provided internal gates shut) as every angle will occur due to sea movement (just one of those delightful welfare issues of sea transport of stock), these sheep, had to cope with being parked on an incline during the loading period (photo taken two hours before sailing) and the unloading period (probably also some hours). So, discomfort before and after a voyage which is known to be difficult for stock, as acknowledged in the guidelines.
And, could it be that there are more livestock trucks behind the upper green hull/ partition on the lower level? No potential for cross breeze if so.....lucky Bass Strait is usually pretty breezy as it was on that day. Amazing to think LE is fine when we cant even get it right across Bass Strait, in Australian ships, under Australian jurisdiction.
Fifty nine cattle out of about 200 transported across Bass Strait, died or were euthanased on arrival. And yes Sunday night was stormy....but thats not uncommon in Bass Strait. Under the guidelines, Master has the call as to whether it is safe to ship......But regardless, why were they being transported......to get the extra bucks from a Vic abattoir? OR the extra bucks to go into the international LE trade? Either way, tragic, greedy and unnecessary. There are very good abattoirs in Tas so unless there was no kill space, this is a case of farmer greed and profits over welfare. Jan 28th 2016
VALE opposes industry proposal to dilute regulation of animal welfare standards in live export Open letter from Vets Against Live Export (VALE) to Alison Penfold, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council (ALEC), PO Box 5552, Kingston ACT 2604 Dear Ms Penfold, I write on behalf of Vets Against Live Export (VALE) concerning proposals by the live export industry to change the standards governing the welfare of animals exported from Australia (Livestock Global Assurance Program; LGAP). You have expressed the opinion that you would welcome a submission on this matter from VALE. As a preliminary matter, we note that the form which you have posted on the relevant website is entirely prescriptive, requiring comment on defined paragraphs of LGAP. VALE is not interested in making a submission in this prescriptive fashion. The substantive point, so far as VALE is concerned, is that it is a fundamental principle of animal welfare that animals used for food should be slaughtered as close to their source as possible. Live export of animals from Australia is inconsistent with this principle, particularly where animals are transported aboard ships for long durations, in overcrowded conditions, exposed to extremes of weather and other conditions inconsistent with maintenance of good animal welfare. It is equally evident that live export is also unacceptable to the Australian public because of the treatment of animals in overseas destinations. Consistent with this view, our recent survey, conducted as an independent poll by UMR Strategic Research, demonstrates that the majority of people polled want to see live export stopped. In our opinion, seeking to improve the treatment of animals in importing countries which have no culture of animal welfare is nothing more than an unrealistic aspiration. We know that Australian animals continue to suffer unacceptably both on live export voyages and during transport and slaughter in overseas countries. We regard your present proposal to put regulation of welfare into the hands of the owners and operators of overseas facilities as nothing more than a cynical exercise by those who stand to profit from this unacceptable and unethical trade. The intention is clearly to make life easier and more profitable for those with a vested interest. VALE does not support such a proposal. Yours sincerely Dr Sue Foster BVSc MVetClinStud FANZCVS VALE Spokesperson _ [Fantastic…..now we are transporting cattle >600kg sourced from below 26 degree latitude to ports above 26 degree latitude, in January, with no bedding. YEP ASEL was never meant for this so its all legal….but lets look and see whether it is OK…..MLA publications and industry say NO.
So here we go, we leave the reader to judge whether it is OK when industry itself has so clearly has stated its not: ASEL Appendix 4.3 Provision of bedding 4.3.1 Cattle and buffalo (1) Cattle and buffalo exported on voyages of 10 days or more must be provided with sawdust, rice hulls or similar material to be used exclusively for bedding at a rate of at least 7 t or 25 m3 for every 1000 m2 of cattle pen space. (2) This does not apply to cattle and buffalo loaded from Brisbane or a port north of latitude 26° south and exported to Southeast Asia or Japan. BUT MLA LIVE.124 Fit to Export Guide” 2006, “livemass; 200 – 500 kg if bred south of 26 degrees south and exported from May to October. 200 – 650 kg if bred elsewhere” [NOTE comment was removed in the 2007 version] MLA LIVE.102 & SBMR.003: Best practice standards for the preparation & husbandry of cattle for transport from Australia” 3.1.4.(iv) “Animals over 500 kg live weight or with a fat cover of 20 mm at the P8 site should not be selected for export [Yep that's was Ross Ainsworth and AAV Mike McCarthy] MLA W.LIV.0254 Management of Bedding during the Livestock Export Process: “It was commonly reported to the authors that heavy cattle (over 380 kg) will, depending on the surface of the pen floor and the stability of the ship, incur more leg injuries than other cattle.” ASEL REVIEW AAV submission : “Overweight animals are at a higher risk of this type of injury [hoof deck syndrome]and subsequent death than animals below 500kg." Anyhow, guess all that matter is that ASEL approves heavy cattle to travel in unstable hard-floored multi-story carparks - we must have the best animal welfare standards in the world....!!! Answer 1: not us. Answer 2: not Beef Central either. Beef Central reports that the SE Asian live export trade is now taking cattle out of Sth Qld and N NSW feedlots "in direct competition" with grainfed processors.
Ho hum....so much for exporting only animals with no access to domestic markets. Just check the photo in June 2015.....
And then fast forward to Jan 2016....Ocean Outback failed in Aust, Ocean Swaggie failed in South America. Same engine manufacturer for both. Wonder if they were planning to slaughter the offloaded Ocean Outback sheep at Beaufort River Meats Abattoir - also had a few problems. Gee who'd have shares in Wellard? Sheep from the Ocean Outback will soon be coming back into Australia for slaughter....which is a blessing for animal welfare.
However, just as with the Al Messilah incident in 2011, it is important to note that this trade, and its disasters, threatens Australian livestock production. Whilst the export ships are disinfected prior to returning to Australia, disinfection can never be perfect when there are surfaces that will accumulate organic matter. Thus to unload Australian animals from these vessels which have transported foreign animals (eg Ocean Swagman is in South America at the moment.....foot and mouth disease?), risks introducing exotic diseases into Australia. Wonder how the average Australian farmer will feel if the live ex trade introduces an exotic disease that wipes out their livelihood. Is the Ocean Outback incident a model for phasing out the sheep trade?
We just load the sheep on so that they can see the old draconian practice, and then unload them for onshore slaughter...so they can be grateful. Not really efficient but does provide much more work for Australians, especially wharfies, truck drivers, feedlot staff and our own qualified meat processors. Finally some value adding... |
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