On the 10th August I gave a presentation to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport at their inquiry into animal welfare standards in the live export industry. In my opening statements I outlined the inherent cruelty in the industry, how we cannot trust the live export industry to care for our animals and how investing in local processing and jobs would provide a more stable base for farmers and our economy.
Of course there were opinions on a range of issues and what I am really hoping for now is that everyone can remain open to new ideas and ways of doing things. With change, there are always challenges and we can’t use them as an excuse not to do anything if we are to be a progressive nation that takes animal welfare seriously.
WSPA’s campaign has seen over 175,000 people from Australia and all over the world take action to let the Government know that they want a phase out of the live trade. People want to find alternatives to live exports and at this stage the Australian Government is not listening to these people, preferring to keep with the status quo, albeit with a few more rules and regulations.
As well as representations from Animals Australia and the RSPCA, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) also presented at the hearing, making it clear that phasing out the trade is an investment in Australian jobs. Especially in light of the global economic downturn, which could potentially lead to a removal of overseas Government subsidies for live animals, we should look to end our reliance on these and would be better off investing in our own processing and value added meat products.
And as I told the Committee, it’s important for people to realise that Indonesia and the Middle East are not our only markets, there are so many opportunities and we just need to look for them. In fact, we don’t even need to look for them, our chilled meat industry is already going tremendously well, and we can continue to build on this.
We will continue to work towards a phase out of live animal exports for slaughter and it’s great to see so many of our supporters acting to achieve this also.
Jodie Jankevics, Campaign Officer, WSPA Australia (pictured above)
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South East Asian Livestock Services has confirmed it will ship 1,000 head of cattle to Vietnam, leaving Darwin Port tomorrow.
It's the first shipment of cattle to that country since 2002, and has been attributed to an improving Vietnamese economy and lower export prices.
SEALS director Sid Parker says his company has had to meet strict animal welfare conditions to get the export licence approved.
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