Right: a steer is restrained prior to stunning. Although stunning before killing is common in many countries, the techniques and methods used often vary.
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Arguments in support of the new recommendations for the export and slaughter of Australian livestock
1. The new recommendations are a dramatic improvement on previous practice
The Australian Government and others supporting the new recommendations have claimed they are a major improvement over previous conditions. An Australian Government information brochure states, 'The government's live export reforms represent the most significant and wide reaching changes to the live export industry in almost a decade.'
The Government information brochure goes on to state, 'The reforms mean Australian livestock exported for slaughter will be traced or accounted for, and treated to international animal welfare requirements right through the supply chain.
The government's reforms will give animal welfare assurances to the Australian community, certainty to industry and livestock producers about the sector's future and confidence to importing countries that Australia is a reliable trading partner.'
2. Australia cannot mandate that stunning be employed in other countries
Supporters of the recommendations note that there is a limit to how far the Australian government can go in imposing stock-handling standards on other countries. While it is possible for these nations to source their cattle and sheep from other suppliers, Australia is not in a position to enforce all the treatment practices it would prefer.
If Australia's standards were to become too onerous, importing countries would simply look elsewhere for their cattle and sheep. Ultimately importing countries exercise control over what occurs within their territories. The best Australia can do is encourage and support improved practices by bearing much of the cost.
The executive director of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, Luke Bowen, has stated, 'I haven't found one producer that doesn't agree with adoption of stunning. We also have to be sensible about it and understand that we can't mandate in another sovereign country.'
The Agricultural minister, Joe Ludwig, has stated, 'We don't ourselves require stunning domestically, so it's a bit hard to enforce that on other countries. What we will do though, in relation to stunning, we will certainly advocate strongly in markets that they should approach and utilise stunning.'
3. Over time it is likely that stunning will be adopted
The Minister for Agriculture, Senator Joe Ludwig, has claimed that over time the use of stunning is likely to increase in countries to which Australia exports livestock. In order to help bring about the increased use of stunning the Australian government has given a series of commitments.
The Government has pledged it will seek to increase the use of stunning in live export markets by promoting the inclusion of stunning in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines through the formal OIE process. Australia has stated it will also promote the use of stunning through work instructions and improved processes and stunning training through regional OIE forums. The Australian Government will also pursue with Australia's trading partners bilateral agreements which include stunning. The government will also support industry efforts to develop and implement voluntary codes of conduct that raise standards above those of the OIE and which include stunning. Finally the government has said it will fund animal welfare improvements in importing countries with support from Australian industry.
4. The recommendations are a sensible compromise that protects livestock while allowing the export trade to resume
It has been claimed that the recommendations are a moderate, feasible response to the previous crisis which both meets animal welfare concerns and operates within the limits of what our overseas export markets are able to achieve. As such it supplies a framework which gives security to both exports and importers of Australian livestock.
The federal Minister for Agriculture, Senator Joe Ludwig, has stated, 'The Government is committed to the live export industry and these reforms will provide stability for the industry and thousands of regional jobs.'
The Senator stressed the collaborative process through which the recommendations had been arrived at, 'The Australian Government has worked closely with the livestock industry and State and Territory governments to develop the new regulatory framework. We have engaged extensively with our trading partners during the development of the reforms and will continue to work with them.'
Senator Ludwig further stated, 'The reforms give certainty to the community who made it clear they want better welfare standards, and certainty to industry and livestock producers who want an industry with a long term future.
Importantly, if animal welfare issues do arise in overseas markets in the future, the Australian Government will have the ability to address these issues without closing entire markets. This is important for delivering global food security.'
5. Whatever costs the exporters may have to bear are necessary if the industry is to continue
These reforms will increase costs for exporters and importers who are now required to provide animal welfare assurance in their supply chains. Initial experience with implementation of the regulatory framework for the live export trade to Indonesia indicates that the additional costs to industry are manageable.
Australian livestock exporters have acknowledged that though implementing the recommendations will be costly, the expenses involved will have to be met if the live export trade is to continue.
Lach MacKinnon, the head of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council has recognised that the home slaughter ban will affect sales, and that it will be costly to impose tracing across the entire live-export industry.
However, Mr MacKinnon has stated, 'The trade will come under pressure, for sure, because that is what they have done in the Middle East for 2000 years and obviously countries don't like being dictated to about how they will feed their people, also, there will be costs involved in implementing these new practices, but we are going to have to work with it.'
Industry chiefs have anticipated such changes, and Sheepmeat Council of Australia chief executive Ron Cullen has indicated that any loss of business due to better animal welfare standards is 'probably the price we have to pay'.
Mr Cullen stated, 'The short-term cost is a cost we have to wear to ensure the future of the industry.'
The Government has agreed to offer partial assistance to exporters in meeting the costs assisted with the new recommendations. The Government has made $5 million available over the next two years to support exporters to deliver improved supply chains. This funding will be available on a 3:1 investment ratio. The full details of this program will be settled in consultation with industry.