Right: An emotional Sussan Ley, a Coalition MP, introduced a private member’s bill banning live sheep exports to the Middle East during the northern summer months. The bill would also ban the trade altogether within five years. Ley was rebuked by the Prime Minister.
Arguments against banning live sheep exports
1. Live exports are an important source of income to Australian farmers Australian farmers, especially in western and northern Australia, have argued that the live animal export trade is vital for their continued economic survival. In June, 2013, Alison Penfold, the chief executive officer of the Australian Livestock Exporters' Association was published commenting on the importance of the live export industry to Australia. Penfold stated, 'Australia has exported livestock to overseas markets for more than 50 years. The livestock export industry is an important component of the Australian agricultural sector, contributing an average of $1 billion in export earnings annually to the national economy. The industry employs approximately 13,000 people, mainly in regional and rural Australia, and provides significant employment opportunities to indigenous people across northern Australia.'  Penfold went on to explain the particular significance of the live export trade to western and northern Australia. She stated, 'The importance of the livestock export industry to regional communities is amplified in northern and western Australia, where livestock production has been transformed to meet the requirements of South-East Asian and Middle Eastern markets. For many cattle producers in these areas the industry is the only source of income, and they supply the majority of live animals for export - approximately 75% of sheep from Western Australia and 80% of cattle from Northern Australia.' In an opinion piece published on July 5, 2018, in Farmers Weekly, Tony York, the West Australian Farmers president stated, ' Western Australia is unique - 85 per cent of Australian sheep that are live exported are from WA. We dominate the trade nationally. A ban on the trade will be detrimental to our growers at farm level and will have a knock-on effect to other industries that support the trade. Shearers, feedlots, backgrounding facilities and transport and haulage companies - many of which are family owned and operated - will feel the pinch as much as any farmer.' York concluded, ' All of these service providers and many other businesses that make up the communities will be left to deal with economic damage done to those who rely on income from sheep producers and the wider farming community.' Former National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, has also defended the claims of farmers dependent on live exports. Joyce stated, 'We have to be very aware that those who are dealing with live sheep are generally dealing on the lesser country that can't take cattle, and we are going to ðaffect their livelihoods, their income streams - not only theirs but the towns they surround. It is about keeping dignity in these people's lives and giving them the capacity...to be able to afford the renovations, to be able to afford the new car, to get a better return back through the farm gate...We have an obligation in this nation to protect the dignity and the rights of those people in the sheep industry.' 2. Many of Australia's live export markets will not accept meat exports Supporters of the live export trade argue that it cannot simply be replaced by chilled meat exports. A National Farmers Federation fact sheet states 'The supply of livestock and chilled or frozen meat often caters to distinct markets that are not interchangeable. Australian livestock is in demand due to logistical difficulties in delivering and storing meat, cultural/religious preferences and its price. In 2007 Australia could not meet the Middle East demand for live animals. The gap was not filled by Australian boxed meat but by live animals from Sudan, Somalia and Iran, countries that do not share Australia's commitment to animal welfare.' Chilled meat can only replace live exports where importing countries do not have prohibitions against foreign slaughtering practices. There are also export markets that are unable to receive chilled meat exports because they do not have the reliable refrigeration needed to keep processed meat fresh. The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has stated, 'Suggestions that the live trade could be completely replaced by chilled and frozen meat fails to take into account the requirements of the market. While Australia has developed a significant trade in meat products, the lack of refrigeration and cold chain facilities [in importing countries], as well as strong cultural preferences for freshly slaughtered meat precludes Australia from servicing all of its export markets with processed meat products.? Similarly, the Australian Institute of International Affairs has noted, 'Cultural practices in many Muslim countries and festivals like Eid al-Adha demand that animals be slaughtered close to consumption.' The Australian Institute of International Affairs has also observed, 'Those who argue that live export should be abandoned in favour of frozen meat products ignore why demand exists for Australian livestock. Refrigeration remains inaccessible for poor and remote communities in Indonesia and other South-East Asian destinations.' In an article published in Queensland Country Life on June 9, 2016, Simon Crean, Australian Livestock Exporters' Council Chairperson, explained some of the factors that limited the development of chilled meat exports to some of Australia's major trading partners. Mr Crean stated, 'The demand for beef and beef products [in Indonesia] is huge, but they also have fundamental infrastructure and cultural issues. They're a Muslim country and have the wet markets because they don't have the capacity for refrigeration throughout the country. Their culture and tradition is to eat the hot meat and their basis for distribution is to kill at night and sell first thing in the morning.' 3. Significant improvements have already been made to treatment conditions for animals exported live Defenders of Australia's live export trade argue that the industry has consistently improved the treatment conditions to which exported animals are subjected. Regarding slaughtering practices, in 2011, Australia introduced the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) intended to improve stock handling from their point of discharge from the transport vessels on arrival in their country of destination, through to the manner in which animals are slaughtered in the importing country. The aim is to assist in the adoption of humane slaughter practices, including pre-death stunning of animals and an end to tendon slashing, eye gouging and other cruelties. There are now almost 600 approved abattoirs in importing countries to slaughter Australian livestock under the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) standards. Australian livestock must only be slaughtered in these approved facilities. Slaughter in facilities that are not approved is a breach of ESCAS and can result in additional conditions or restrictions being placed on Australian exporters. Abattoirs range from large, modern and newly constructed facilities that process large numbers of livestock to small, family-run operations that process only a couple of head per night to service local communities. Some facilities have multiple slaughter lines with several butcher teams working at the same time. Others are more simple facilities that only have one slaughter line. Increasing numbers of exported livestock are stunned prior to slaughter. Stunning, when performed correctly, involves rendering an animal unconscious using special equipment so the animal cannot feel pain. In the case of Indonesia, Australia's most important market, pre-slaughter stunning of cattle has grown enormously, from under 10 per cent five years ago, to around 95pc today. (August, 2018) Regarding the conditions under which animals are transported, a fact sheet supplied by the National Farmers Federation has noted that in 2011, 99.26% of sheep and 99.85% of cattle exported by sea arrived at their destination fit and healthy. Accredited stockmen and women care for Australian sheep and cattle during their journey overseas and Australian Government accredited veterinarians provide an extra level of care on vessels travelling on long-haul voyages. On board, all animals have room to move around and lie down, ready access to food and water and are placed in hospital pens if they need extra care. Exporters must implement and comply with the detailed requirements of the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) which cover all aspects of preparation of livestock for the voyage - from farm through to on-vessel management. Supporters of the live export trade note, Australia is the only country in the world that actively works in overseas markets to improve animal welfare conditions. Australia is also the only country in the world that attempts to regulate livestock exports, all the way from Australian farms to feedlots and abattoirs overseas. The Australian producer levy funds millions of dollars worth of training, education, research and development to improve animal welfare conditions during voyages and in overseas markets. If Australia were to stop exporting livestock, animal welfare conditions overseas would decline. 4. Conditions on board ships can be further improved by imposing more regulation Supporters of live exports maintain that there are further reforms that can be made to improve the welfare of animals being transported overseas. In April, 2018, livestock vet Dr Michael McCarthy was tasked with reviewing the risk of heat stress to the $250m live sheep trade, after the agriculture minister and Nationals MP David Littleproud was shown whistleblower footage from a now notorious voyage of the live export ship Awassi Express on which 2,400 sheep died. On May 17, 2018, the results were released of the government review charged with improving conditions for sheep transported to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere Summer. The recommendations included: That the industry moves away from using mortality as a measure to a focus on measures that reflect the welfare of the animal. Within the risk assessment model this replaces the mortality limit with a heat tolerance level. That the risk settings on the Heat Stress Risk Assessment (HSRA) are to be adjusted to better reflect community expectations. That the space allocation allowed sheep be increased by up to 39% . That a vessels pen air turnover (a measure of effective ventilation) be independently verified. That the reportable level of fatalities for sheep travelling from Australia to the Middle East be reduced from 2% to 1% effective immediately. It was further decided that there be stricter provisions put in place to ensure that transporters abide by the new regulations. Directors of live export companies who do not adhere to the new rules will face up to 10 years in prison. In addition, independent observers will be placed avoid vessels to ensure the standards are adhered to. The Agricultural Minister has endorsed the recommendations of the McCarthy review. Mr Littleproud has stated, 'If I have penalties and get the industry themselves to come on this journey, I will eradicate that, but what I'm doing is getting ahead of the curve. By putting independent observers on all boats, it will eradicate this type of behaviour going forward.' 5. Many opponents of the live export industry are extremists without sympathy for rural communities Defenders of Australia's live export industry argue that many of its opponents are motivated by an extreme opposition to the trade. They further argue that these opponents have no sympathy for the position of the farmers who produce the stock and are unable to recognise the benefits of Australia's involvement. The industry's supporters claim that having Australia remain in live exports is a better guarantee of animal welfare than having it withdraw. The Agricultural Minister, David Littleproud, has stated that opponents of the industry need to reflect on their 'moral compass' because if the Australian trade is ultimately banned, animals from other countries with fewer safeguards will be exported to the Middle East. Littleproud has argued, 'If it's not our sheep and our cattle going to the Middle East, it will be another nation's sheep and cattle, that doesn't have the standards we do, and you know what, if we think we can bury our head in the pillow and close our eyes and think it's all over - well I ask about the moral compass of those people because there will be animals that suffer.' Littleproud has suggested that metropolitan Australians have lost their understanding of and sympathy for Australian rural communities and do not appreciate the difficulties Australian farmers face nor the lengths they go to to manage their stock humanely. Littleproud has stated that city dwellers 'don't understand the production systems and the practicalities of how farming takes place and the ethical behaviour that our farmers undertake to produce the best food and fibre in the world. It's their pride and joy.' Former National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, has stated that those opposing live export are extremists who are campaigning for its total abolition, irrespective of the benefits it offers. Joyce stated, ' I think that what we have to do quite clearly is make sure that we send a clear message that we are not going to be put to the saw by zealots. We are over, in this nation, being put to the saw by zealots. Whether it's the sheep industry, the fish industry, or the cattle industry, we are over zealots who want to put us out of business.' Joyce continued, 'What we're up against is like a religion, it's zealotry and they're not going to stop at just the closure of the live sheep industry. These people haven't got a partial religion - they've got an absolute religion. They want to close the live sheep game and where will they go next? Live cattle. And then it's going to be the live transport industry.' Joyce concluded, 'They're not going to be happy until they've closed down the live sheep trade, the live cattle trade, the live goat trade, until people out west are poor again and then they'll go back to their inner suburban hives and say they've done a good job.' |
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