In a statement to Lateline last night, Australian company International Livestock Export said that they have "no objection if the government wants to pay for them", "them" being the vets and stockmen who are currently paid by the exporter. They claim there is no pressure on the vets to alter mortality data. So, if the exporters are keen, it is time for the government to change the system and have independent veterinarians, paid by the government, funded by the exporter as recommended by the AVA in their Supplementary Submission to the Farmer Review 2011. Bring it on!
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It seems that people are coming to realise that our producers are relying too heavily on live export. In an article in Weekly Times Now Sam Paton, a rural property valuer at Agribusiness Valuations Australia, said that northern cattle producers were too heavily reliant on live export to Indonesia even before the 2011 suspension.
According to a 2009 Meat and Livestock Australia report, averaged debt per unit of livestock doubled over the course of a decade and returns on assets had crashed to less than 2%. Indonesia dictates the conditions of Australia's live export trade. If they decide to refuse our stock, what then? Check out our latest media release. It would seem that AQIS has accommodated the exporters and that correct
procedure has not been followed. Australian laws exist to try and protect animals on voyages but in this voyage, it would appear that those laws were broken and that both AQIS and the exporters let animals travel without the necessary animal care professionals. A couple of weeks ago ABC Rural presented an article about sheep processors in WA closing down.
"One major Narrogin operation, south east of Perth, is closed and other processors are battling to maintain sustainable kill levels." If only we could find a source of meat so we could keep our local industry afloat ... In June last year 72 cattle died en route from Victoria to Turkey triggering a high mortality voyage investigation.
The cattle were moved from a cold wet Victorian winter , to the height of the northern summer on a voyage lasting 37 days; temperatures on board ship exceeded the level reported by scientists to cause heat stress in cattle for 17 of those days. An AQIS report into the incident notes that the exporter used an off-label dose of vaccine and that DAFF signed off on that dose in the consignment risk management plan. Arguably, the Portland cattle should not have been loaded onto the ship; the Fremantle cattle on the same ship had a normal mortality rate. There is evidence that the on-board vet did everything they could to help the cattle. Despite this, the report raises the prospect that the vet could possibly be prosecuted for not keeping proper records! Record keeping would not have saved these cattle. VALE intends to do everything we can to ensure that the truth emerges. We also wish to throw our support behind the vet in question. You can read a press release with more detail on our media page. The Indonesian Government has moved to limit total beef imports from all sources in 2012. Indonesia is likely to reduce its live animal import quota this year by nearly half (500 000 to 283000), and so other markets will have to be found for the lighter steers and heifers from northern Australia. The report which comes from ABARES states that it is unlikely that alternative export markets will be found. You can download the PDF.
Regardless of animal welfare issues, we need to be thinking about transition to an alternative to live export NOW. Yesterday we sent out a media release introducing ourselves to the world and were flooded with phone calls. Sky News had us lined up for an interview today, but unfortunately the federal Cabinet reshuffle saw it postponed. We sure got a lot of hits on the website though! Stay tuned ...
Australian Agricultural Company (AACO) are awaiting a Public Environment Report for their proposed new, state-of-the-art export abattoir at Livingstone Valley in the Northern Territory. Just think ... 250 new permanent jobs, many new businesses, better security for northern pastoralists and of course decreased live export. What a win-win this would be. We need to encourage governments to upgrade the public infrastructure to facilitate this project e.g. roads, electricity, gas and water access, rail crossings and sidings.
Perth has just baked in its hottest day in two years, and hottest Australia Day in 33 years, reaching 41.9 degrees, in the shade, in the afternoon. Swanbourne, just up the road from Fremantle Port peaked at 43.1 degrees, in the shade. Sheep trucks rolled into Fremantle Port all day to be loaded for export in the full sun onto a stationary ship. What a great nation we are.
_Watch this blog page for the latest developments in VALE action.
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