Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke, has announced extra funding to improve animal welfare in Australia’s cruel live animal export trade following the Humane Chain event held just days ago.The Australian Government and livestock exporters will be investing more than $900,000 in projects that they say will improve animal welfare standards in the Middle East and South East Asia.
Mr Burke said that improving animal welfare is crucial to support a sustainable and profitable live export trade.
“Previous governments have shut down export markets. We have opened them up and at the same time invested with industry to improve animal welfare standards in overseas markets,” Mr Burke said.
“This means we can meet community expectations for animal welfare while still supporting jobs in regional Australia.”
No, Mr Burke, you can’t. In the past six months alone over 700 meat workers have lost their jobs, while truck after truck of livestock is sometimes quite literally driven straight past abattoirs and loaded onto waiting export vessels.
40,000 jobs and over 150 abattoirs have been lost because of the live export trade – wake up Mr Burke.
The projects, worth around $1 million in total, aim to improve post-arrival animal welfare by upgrading animal handling infrastructure and providing training for those involved in animal handling and transport in the Middle East and South East Asia.
Burke goes onto say “Our involvement in the livestock export trade and our international leadership in animal welfare allows Australia to influence conditions for animals in overseas markets.”
No, Mr Burke, it doesn’t. Best standards for bad practice is not an option. The live export trade is an inherently cruel trade – initiating training programs for handlers and workers in export countries sounds like a fantastic idea, but the logistics of such an operation is near to impossible. The transient nature of the work and the fact that a vast majority of all workers in the Middle East are migrant labour who come and go according to their availability and visa allocation further makes such a task almost farcical.
According to the Government, the live export industry is worth around 1.8 billion dollars, so Mr Burke’s allocation of just one million dollars is a mere 0.06 percent of this figure, or in other words 22 cents per animal (based on last years export figures). What can you buy for 22 cents? Certainly not animal welfare.
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Good going for exposing this government spin. As the WSPA representative said at the forum last week, despite any government efforts we will never be able to change the cultural practices of 7 Middle Eastern countries, Sheep will never be able cope with being squashed onto a sheep for a month and Australians will never approve of this industry. Keep up the great work WSPA!
Does Tony Burke's announcement come with a guarantee that Australian animals will be protected? I think not.
Does Tony Burke's announcement come with a guarantee that animal welfare investigators in the Middle East next week, next month, next year will fail to document appalling cruelty? I think not.
Give up the pretence Tony Burke - the only way to protect Australian animals is to stop live exports
YES, it's a cruel practice that should have run its course by now. We currently have floods in Australia, with stranded animals including sheep being rescued by caring farmers and volunteers. Paradoxically, we continue to load these same animals onto death ships, bound for countries with hot climates and poor animal welfare records. What a shabby and inhumane end to the lives of these gentle creatures, whose lives in Australia were pampered in comparison.
I don't know what kind of people can say that this is an acceptable way to treat animals, raised and (mostly) looked after in our country, then dispatched to a disgusting, uncaring and suffering end for the most part.
Even taking export economics into account (if it can be favourably argued), live export is STILL an unacceptable, morally and ethically corrupt practice with regard to animal welfare.
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