Direct Action Everywhere

See our recent post:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/05/31/usa-dxe-investigator-matt-johnson-was-just-arrested-in-iowa-hes-in-jail-right-now-charged-with-three-felonies-for-documenting-factory-farms-roasting-pigs-alive/

 

 

 

 

1/6/20 – LATEST NEWS from Matt.

He has now gone back with other activists to the Iowa pig roasting facility.

 

New video:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=247990839820010&notif_id=1590978903978216&notif_t=live_video&source=global-email&care2=0&campaign=vsd-action-live

 

 

Hi Mark,

The jail kicked me out.

So I went right back to the farm that we exposed roasting pigs alive through “ventilation shutdown.” 

They’re about to do it again, but activists are locking down at the farm RIGHT NOW, blocking trucks hauling in pigs, and demanding an end to the violence.

Help us elevate the cries of the pigs and get Governor Kim Reynolds to end this horror and start protecting animals and workers.

Join the action now and share the livestream to help us force a response

 

Then please help us get our message to Kim Reynolds every way that you can. You can tweet at her asking her to end VSD and #CancelAnimalAg. You can call her office at 515-281-5211 and leave a message. You can submit an email through her website here. We need as many people speaking up as possible if we’re going to protect these animals and the workers who suffer emotional trauma in this violent industry.

 

 

9 years ago today, Australians were waking up to the shocking reality of live animal export.

The night before, Animals Australia’s ground-breaking investigation into Australia’s live cattle trade to Indonesia had aired on Four Corners, in a program aptly titled A Bloody Business.

We watched in horror as this Australian steer — who we named ‘Tommy’ — stood trembling on the floor of an Indonesian slaughterhouse, waiting his ‘turn’ as his pen mates were butchered around him.

The months that followed this exposé were a blur of politics and press conferences as the industry came under unprecedented scrutiny and in the end, was forced into a new era of government regulation.

Today, this ‘bloody business’ continues but for live exporters, it’s harder, more expensive and more scrutinised than ever. That’s one of Tommy’s legacies.

The other will be an end to this global trade in animal suffering. Because Tommy’s experience ignited a collective wave of grief, compassion and determination that is as strong today as it was 9 years ago. Thank you for fuelling his legacy and being the reason our work can continue.

Live exporters want the world to forget Tommy. We never will.

https://www.animalsaustralia.org/

 

 

https://theecologist.org/2020/may/27/coronavirus-danger-live-animal-export

 

Coronavirus: the danger of live animal export

Abigail Penny

 

27th May 2020

As society shifted from liberty to lockdown, life as we know it changed. This global crisis warrants a global response and that’s what we’re giving it… or are we?

We’ve seen schools close and pop-up hospitals open. As planes sat idle, airlines sought bailouts. Anti-bac became our everyday elixir. We’re now living a life full of hand-sewn face-masks, never-ending Zoom calls and supermarket home-deliveries.

In France police patrol the streets checking people’s permits to stroll outside. In Spain some residents resorted to walking toy dogs in an attempt to dodge imposed restrictions. And finally, after two long months of strict lockdown measures, Italy has taken a collective deep breath of fresh air.

So, as we battle this deadly pandemic, it’s only right that ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ became our quarantine mantra.

 

Journeys

As many of us keep safe inside, farmed animals continue to roam — though they too are not free. With a one-way ticket to an international destination of the industry’s choice, they are shipped great distances for ‘fattening’ and butchery.

Earlier this month Animal Equality’s team in Spain released heart-breaking scenes of disorientated young lambs and sheep crammed into trucks and ships.

Forced to travel many miles from where they were born, footage showed them in small metal pens, their hooves caught between the bars and their journeys lasting for days or even weeks. Some are pregnant or become injured along the way; most endure extreme temperatures with little food, water or rest; all are unaware of the chilling fate that awaits them.

Last month animal protection organisations, Eyes on Animals and L214, released undercover footage of calves from Ireland transported on long journeys to France for veal, where they were callously kicked and beaten with sticks.

And just a fortnight ago coverage of a newly published European Commission report highlighted that the welfare of millions of animals exported from the EU is being put at risk by failings, “including heat stress, bad planning and a lack of information from the destination country”.

Here in the UK thousands of live sheep, calves, pigs and even horses continue to be exported to countries in the EU and beyond. The cliffs of Dover are witness to lambs on their way to slaughter.

 

Disease

So, why one rule for the animal agriculture industry and another for the rest of us?

A particularly poignant question at a time when researchers are suggesting that the consumption of animal products may be linked to the coronavirus crisis and when science tells us that 75 percent of new and emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.

Forcing animals to live in intensive conditions, travel great lengths in restless confinement and suffer a merciless death leaves us in a more precarious position than ever before.

Vets and epidemiologists keep sounding the alarm that live animal export significantly increases the likelihood of diseases to spread; coronavirus knows no borders. The animal agriculture industry is making a mockery of everyone’s social distancing efforts and putting us all in grave danger.

Live export is certainly not necessary on animal welfare grounds, nor for reasons of public safety, so why exactly is this practice still permitted in the current health crisis?

As I write, animals are struggling in overcrowded lorries and ships, stuck in even longer queues than usual as COVID-19 further disrupts transport links. We cast-off these blameless animals with no controls in place for how they are to live or die: once they depart British soil, they may as well already be dead to us.

 

 

Profits

Workers too are in imminent danger. Truckers, vessel crews, animal handlers and others are all in close proximity with these frightened animals and will be amongst the first to catch any deadly pathogens that lurk. No one should be forced to be at risk just to make a living.

Though can we really be all that surprised that the meat industry is prioritising profits over people?

Weeks ago we saw workers stage a walkout of a poultry plant operated by Moy Park — one of the UK’s largest chicken producers, responsible for raising and slaughtering over 312 million birds here each year — due to fears over lack of PPE and inadequate measures to combat the spread of coronavirus.

And stories from slaughterhouses and meat packing facilities continue to dominate our screens, with coronavirus cases especially prevalent in abattoirs throughout the US and Ireland. This from an industry that prides itself on ever-increasing ‘kill line’ speeds, where workers are typically in close proximity and made to work as quickly as possible, all to maximise profits.

 

 

Inaction

Worldwide, an estimated two billion live animals are transported long distances each year. Since we went into lockdown in the UK on 23rd March, over 350 million live animals have been exported around the world. The numbers are staggering… the risk to us all equally so.

Boris himself has spoken out in the past in favour of a ban, claiming that by “abolishing the cruel live shipment of animals” the UK can demonstrate that “we will be able to do things differently” post-Brexit.

Despite this, no legislation has been put in place. Animal Equality is among many animal protection groups calling for action, including Compassion in World Farming, Eurogroup for Animals, KAALE and more.

The export of live animals poses a serious threat to humans and animals and now, more than ever before, we cannot afford the further spread of disease. The Government must end live animal exports.

 

 

This Author

Abigail Penny is executive director for Animal Equality. Animal Equality will be joining Compassion in World Farming’s global twitterstorm on 14 June 2020 to raise awareness of this issue and to signal to policymakers that this cruel practice must end now. Learn more from its website.

 

 

 

Dear Mark,

So much has happened since the last time I wrote to you about the live export of sheep to Kuwait, in the Middle East.

 

High Court, February 2020

We headed to the High Court in February 2020 where our case was unfortunately struck off the roll due to procedural issues – the merits of the case had not been argued, and we believe that we still have a strong case to be made.

The Ship Arrives, March 2020

In March 2020, the Al Messilah vessel arrived in South Africa and the NSPCA had teams ready at both the feedlot in Berlin, and the East London Harbour to monitor the loading of these sentient creatures.
It was a gruelling week for the NSPCA who worked tirelessly to protect the sheep that were eventually loaded onto the vessel which was destined for Kuwait and Oman.

It was an uphill battle from beginning to end – court proceedings, protesters, challenges gaining access to the harbour, and our inspectors being treated with contempt by the employees, agents, and associates of Al Mawashi, and the Page Farming Trust – in spite of all these challenges, as well as knowing what the devastating end for these creatures would be, our team stood tall for the voiceless.

We are unsure of the final number of animals loaded on board as the employees and crew were completely uncooperative and hindered our team at every given opportunity, but an estimated 54 500 animals were loaded.

In spite of the NSPCA having an order from the court to inspect the vessel at the end of loading, our Senior Inspectors and Veterinarian were instructed to leave the ship before our inspection was complete, after an injured animal was pointed out. It was impossible to intervene under the circumstances, and Al Mawashi acted in contempt of the Magistrate’s order.

Due to our team being rushed off the ship, a thorough inspection was not possible. In spite of Al Mawashi insisting to the public and the courts that welfare was paramount to their business, and that they had employed an “independent” veterinarian who would travel with the animals on board the vessel, no veterinarian was on board.

Al Mawashi, also known as KLTT, now has a consistent reputation in South Africa for disrespecting South African laws.

 

 

The South African Government stops exports during the Middle Eastern Summer months

Like Australian animal welfare groups, notably Animals Australia, who lobbied to the Australian government, the NSPCA has continuously engaged with The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) in order to end this abhorrent trade. The NSPCA has been advised by the DALRRD that they have advised the Eastern Cape Veterinary Services against any live animal exportation to the Middle East from May to September 2020. The Eastern Cape Veterinary Services have confirmed that they have no intentions of going against the decision from DALRRD.

The NSPCA commends the South African Government for taking a stance against shipments during the Middle Eastern Summer months based on the exacerbated risks during this period.

The route and climatic conditions of the voyage from South Africa to the Middle East are horrendous at this time of the year. The temperatures in the Persian Gulf are already climbing towards the 50 degree Celsius mark.

These enclosed vessels do not have air conditioning as claimed. The hot air outside is simply pumped into the pens, the warmer seawater heats up the hull from below and the hot sun beats down on to these metal boxes, all contributing to the already hot and humid environment caused by the tens of thousands of sheep radiating heat from their own bodies, in an attempt to cool themselves.

Evidence has shown that during voyages, particularly between May to September, the combined heat and humidity literally “cooks” animals alive. Many will die and those that survive will endure unimaginable suffering.

IN SPITE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECISION, AL MAWASHI HAVE ACCUMULATED APPROXIMATELY 72 000 SHEEP IN THEIR FEEDLOT IN BERLIN

In light of the amassed sheep at the Feedlot – we have tried to ascertain from Al Mawashi whether a shipment is intended in the near future and have been left to draw our own conclusions.

Our legal team wrote to Al Mawashi on 24 May 2020 to inform them that in light of their silence, and lack of cooperation, they have left us with no choice but to begin preparing an application to the High Court – this is to be set down for hearing on Tuesday, 2 June 2020.

Although the climatic conditions between May and September are severe in the Middle East – we are determined to have the transport of livestock by sea declared unlawful throughout the year.

We thank you for your continued support – we will not give up and we are grateful that we have you on our team.
Thank you for being the difference.

Sincerely
Marcelle Meredith
Executive Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WAV Comment

So now the possibility of ‘an exemption’ to allow animals to be exported when they should not. In addition, the ship (Al-Kuwait) with crewmembers suffering from Covid 19, possibly sailing to foreign shores and taking the disease there with them ! – wow; this just sums up how bloody desperate the Australian government and live export industry are to keep their trade going. Prepared to take the risk of human health in another country by potentially allowing this vessel to sail.

Seems like they care just as little for human life as they do for the animals they transport. Sick, all of them – literally !

We totally support Lyn and the crew (and all other folk fighting this trade) at Animals Australia and wish them the best for success in getting this stopped. As for the government and the exporters; they are bastards; simple as that; putting money before the welfare of animals and now humans. Lets hope the trade goes to the wall and that in the near future the Australian people vote in a government that does give a shit about the environment and compassion to all living beings.

 

Hi Mark,

You may have seen reports in the media of a COVID-19 outbreak onboard a live export ship, the Al-Kuwait, which is docked in Fremantle. This situation is still unfolding, with predictions that further crew members could be diagnosed with the virus.

Back in March, we wrote to the Department of Agriculture expressing concerns about the heightened risks that the global coronavirus pandemic posed to crew members and animals. As you know, seafarers live and work in close and unhygienic conditions and have no access to medical care. Risks of shipment rejections increased dramatically as a result of COVID-19 implications.

The sheep who were supposed to be loaded onto the Al-Kuwait remain in an export feedlot while their fate is determined. In theory, this delay should mean a reprieve from live export for these animals as new regulations prohibiting voyages during the Northern summer come into effect next week.

However, we’ve read concerning media reports that indicate an exemption could be granted to the exporter to allow a shipment in June.

We have expressed our opposition to this in the strongest possible terms to the Department of Agriculture today and will again tomorrow during a teleconference.

Any exemption would obviously be totally unacceptable given the well-known heat stress risks that these animals would face.

I will be in touch again when we know more, and we will of course let you know if we need you to amplify our efforts on behalf of these animals. But for now, I wanted you to know that we are are doing all we can to ensure that the welfare of these sheep is prioritised.

Warm regards,
Lyn

Animals Australia.

 

https://www.animalsaustralia.org/

 

 

 

WAV Comment – this is an un edited copy of the PR from Eurogroup.  We would love to see action on live animal exports.  Make of this what you will.  

Talk is one thing; action is another – especially where the EU is involved.

 

 

Green Deal puts animal welfare back on the EU’s agenda

20 May 2020

EurogroupforAnimals

Press Release

https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/news/green-deal-puts-animal-welfare-back-eus-agenda

 

The day has finally arrived: the Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity to 2030 strategies of the European Union’s Green Deal have been adopted. Both contain positive points that suggest the Commission is ready to take action for animals – but will these strategies deliver the concrete changes the EU needs to move away from intensive farming and the exploitation of wild animals and their habitats?

Last week, an open letter from Eurogroup for Animals and its member organisations asked the European Commission to take our recommendations for both strategies on board, and our members also mobilised to drum up support at national level as part of our “Stop Pandemics – Start Here” campaign.

Indeed, during the preparation of the strategies, the COVID-19 pandemic offered a particularly timely reminder that devastating results can come out of the way we trade, farm and keep animals. Wild and domestic animals have carried viruses and bacteria for millennia, but what has changed is the way we humans interact with them. The legal and illegal wildlife trade, urbanisation and the destruction of wildlife’s natural habitats for agricultural purposes, especially for the intensification of animal farming, are combining to push humans, wildlife and other animals closer than ever before – and heightening the risk of pandemics like the one we’re suffering now.

With the presentation of the finalised texts today, it seems that the Commission has indeed taken most of this to heart.

The Biodiversity to 2030 Strategy takes many of our recommendations on board, committing to keep existing environmental policies strong and stimulating the enforcement of the Birds and Habitats Directives, with ambitious goals for protecting European species. It also makes a commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30% each of the EU’s land and sea areas, and says that at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land must be organically farmed by 2030.

The Commission will propose a further tightening of the rules of EU ivory trade in 2020, and by 2021, it will revise the Action Plan against wildlife trafficking to step up efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade. It states that the EU will enhance its support to global efforts aimed at applying the ‘One Health’ approach, by promoting better protection of natural ecosystems coupled with efforts to reduce wildlife trade and consumption, to improve resilience to possible future diseases and pandemics.

However, to ensure that the strategy is implemented effectively, the Commission should also regulate the legal wildlife trade, which impacts global biodiversity and animal welfare, and poses health risks to EU citizens. An EU-wide ‘Positive List’ for exotic pets, specifying which animal species are suitable and safe to be kept as pets, would offer a much-needed precautionary approach, given the continuous shifts in species and numbers of animals in trade, and would be coherent with the ‘Do No Harm’ principle promoted in the strategy.

“The document is ambitious,” says Reineke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals. “However, we will be pushing for implementing actions to regulate the exotic pet trade to protect EU consumers, animal welfare and biodiversity. Going by the strategy’s acknowledgment of the ‘Do No Harm’ principle and the fact that any product on the market should comply with EU and international commitments, we hope they’ll be open to the idea. We also urgently need a full ban on the ivory trade, stricter regulation of the legal trade in wildlife, and a EU-wide Positive List.”

As for the Farm-to-Fork Strategy, happily the Commission makes it clear that animal welfare legislation will be revised and broadened, and the revision will have to provide higher welfare standards than existing ones. This is an opportunity for all existing animal welfare laws to be revised, particularly the Transport and Slaughter regulations, but also others such as the Broiler and Pig Directives. This also opens the opportunity   to deliver on the recent ECI “End The Cage Age”, calling for an end to the use of cages in livestock systems, and to include specific animal welfare provisions for species such as cattle. As the strategy makes the link  between legislative change for animal welfare and the aquaculture sector, this is the opportunity to introduce the first species-specific provisions for farmed fish, too.

However, in other respects the strategy is less ambitious. While the Commission accepts that moving to more plant-based diets and less meat consumption is good for health and the environment alike, earlier versions of the strategy proposed an end to promotional measures for meat. The finalised text now says only that the Commission will undertake a review of EU promotional support for agrifood products with a view to enhancing its “contribution to sustainable production and consumption”. We expect this review to lead to a transparent conclusion that meat should not be promoted, and we regret that the language has become so weak in the final version.

The strategy announces the creation of a framework for a sustainable food system, but remarkably a reflection on the role of the intensive livestock industry in the spread of zoonotic diseases is missing. Eurogroup for Animals believes the new framework law should lead to a profound system change including a phase-out of intensive animal farming practices. Although the strategy commits to considering options for animal welfare labelling, there is no mention of method-of-production labelling, which would provide an objective and harmonised framework to support the transition towards higher welfare and sustainable livestock systems.

The strategy also recognises the detrimental impact imported products can have on the environment in producing countries, calling to avoid the externalising or export of unsustainable practices. The call for EU trade policy to contribute to enhancing cooperation, and particularly to obtaining commitments from third countries on animal welfare, is very welcome.

“This document is historical in so many ways, opening the door to a potential better world for farm animals in the EU and other parts of the globe. It shows the Commission’s willingness to strengthen animal welfare legislation after years of stagnancy, and that they’re listening to the voices of millions of EU citizens,” says Reineke Hameleers. “Nevertheless, we need systemic change and that needs a lot of determination, as well as resources. The Commission’s plan for a sustainable food system is laudable, but will they also provide additional support to farmers in the transition towards higher animal welfare systems and regenerative agriculture?”

Both strategies recognise that the wildlife trade and intensive farming together add up to more than the sum of their parts, and not just where zoonoses such as COVID-19 are concerned. The Biodiversity to 2030 Strategy states several times that it will work in tandem with the new Farm-to-Fork Strategy and the revised Common Agricultural Policy, and that the Commission will ensure that the CAP’s strategic plans lead to the use of sustainable practices such as organic farming, agro-ecology, and stricter animal welfare standards. Similarly, the Farm-to-Fork Strategy asserts that “the Commission will ensure the implementation of this strategy in close coherence with the other elements of the Green Deal, particularly the Biodiversity strategy”.

The finalised strategies will now be rolled out, with the European Parliament adopting a resolution on the content later this year. At Eurogroup for Animals, our next opportunity will be to influence the European Parliament’s response to the two strategies, so our members will start to mobilise citizens in the days ahead to contact their MEPs and make their voices – and our recommendations – heard.

 

 

 

 

 

As many of you are aware, live animal transport (live export) is one of our major hates and something we have been involved with for decades; personally acting as investigators into this sordid business – https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/ – thus we feel that we do have experience in; and feel we have some degree of knowledge to talk about this trade.

After the two articles we have reproduced from ‘the conversation’ which you can read below; with further links in the articles; we have reproduced a few links specifically relating to our own work monitoring sheep exported live from Romania (EU) to the Middle East. We published updates every day of the position of the vessel on its shipment, along with conditions and temperatures for the sheep which were clearly outside of EU regulation 1/2005 on the so called ‘Protection’ of animals in transport.

As we have said many times before, the EU regulation is just a smokescreen behind which all the authorities and regulators can hide, whilst really doing nothing. As always, in the end it is the animals that suffer terribly.

Regards Mark (WAV).

 

Here are just a few of our recent posts relating to Romanian sheep being exported to the Middle East in extreme temperatures:

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/08/01/romanian-sheep-ship-update-1-8-19-1020hrsgmt-vessel-now-entering-kuwait-city-expected-to-dock-0300hrs-local/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/30/romanian-sheep-transporter-ship-update-30-7-19-currently-moored-at-jebel-ali-dubai-uae-no-speed-moored/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/26/update-26-7-19-2000hrs-gmt-for-romanian-sheep-livestock-carrier-al-shuwaikh/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/25/25-7-romanian-sheep-exports-update-vessel-now-n-the-gulf-of-aden/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/24/eu-se-england-meps-now-asked-by-wav-as-to-why-france-stops-live-transport-and-yet-romania-exports-70000-live-sheep-to-the-middle-east-in-temperatures-10-degrees-hotter/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/23/al-shuwaikh-romanian-sheep-shipment-70000-animals-current-position-red-sea-has-departed-jeddah/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/20/romanian-sheep-shipping-news-20-7-19-new-kuwait-eta-over-another-weeks-sailing-time-now-set-what-are-conditions-like-for-the-animals/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/07/16/romania-re-70000-sheep-exported-to-the-middle-east-how-to-contact-romanian-meps-to-express-your-disgust-at-their-nation/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/10/28/eu-remember-the-romanian-sheep-to-the-middle-east-in-extreme-temperatures-the-latest-from-the-eu-but-still-no-infringement/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/09/18/remember-the-al-shuwaikh-and-the-romania-sheep-now-it-is-trying-to-take-sa-sheep-read-the-latest-from-animals-australia-and-the-rspca/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/09/06/england-wav-now-write-to-europe-regarding-romanian-sheep-and-animal-carrying-box-trailers/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/09/04/nightmare-comes-true-for-romanian-sheep-exported-to-the-gulf/

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/08/04/romanian-sheep-exports-on-al-shuwaikh-we-have-all-the-data-and-are-now-waiting-for-the-eu-to-return-from-summer-holidays-then-we-start/

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://theconversation.com/new-findings-show-australian-sheep-face-dangerous-heat-stress-on-export-ships-137598

 

New findings show Australian sheep face dangerous heat stress on export ships

 

May 4, 2020 8.50pm BST

 

It’s been almost three years since thousands of Australian sheep died during a voyage from Australia to the Middle East. My group’s new research provides insight into the heat stress faced by sheep exported in recent years and casts further doubt on the industry’s future.

We found sheep experienced heat stress on more than half of voyages to the hottest port in the Middle East, Doha, over three summers from 2016 to 2018.

This is the first time the extent of heat stress in live sheep exports from Australia has been quantified, and the findings do not bode well. A federal government ban on exports during the Northern Hemisphere summer is already hurting the industry. And COVID-19 looks likely to affect the annual Hajj pilgrimage and Eid al-Adha religious holiday, when our sheep meat is in high demand.

The future of Australia’s live sheep export industry appears bleak. Sheep farmers would be wise to seriously explore alternatives.

Severe heat stress exposed

Australia to the Middle East is one of the world’s longest sea transport routes of live sheep for slaughter, usually taking about 20 days.

The welfare risk to sheep from heat stress is highest on voyages departing Australia in our winter, and arriving in the Persian Gulf in the Northern Hemisphere summer.

In April 2018, whistleblowers released video footage filmed the previous year showing shocking live export conditions on the Awassi Express ship. More than 2,400 sheep died on the voyage from Fremantle to the Middle East.

The footage triggered public outrage. As part of its response, the federal agriculture department established a committee, of which I was a member, to assess the heat risk facing sheep exports to the Middle East.

The committee recommended measures to ensure sheep experienced heat stress on fewer than 2% of voyages. Subsequent research by my group would reveal just how far the industry is from that target.

Alarming findings

The federal government granted us access to temperature and mortality data from 14 voyages from Australia to the Middle East in May to December, between 2016 and 2018.

We wanted to know at what temperatures the welfare of the sheep began to be affected by heat stress.

To determine this, we analysed so-called “wet bulb temperatures” on the sheep decks. This measures not just air temperature but water vapour, which affects the levels of heat stress actually experienced at a particular temperature.

Wet bulb temperatures typically increased from 20℃ to 30℃ during the 14 voyages in the Northern Hemisphere summer. Ten out of 14 ships stopped at Doha in Qatar, the hottest of the four Gulf ports. There, daily maximum wet bulb temperatures from July to September exceed 27.5℃ half the time, at which point heat stress in sheep increases.

The wet bulb temperatures at Doha exceeded 32.2℃ 2% of the time, at which point sheep deaths are more common.

Ships docking at Doha sit in the sun for about a day and a half while some sheep are unloaded, exposing those left on board to high temperatures.

The ban is not enough

The federal government recently banned sheep exports to the Middle East between June 1 and September 14 this year, due to heat stress risks. Shipments to Doha are banned from May 22 until September 22.

The government has argued that a longer ban would have too great an impact on the industry. But our results show mortality increases during voyages from September to November, compared with May. This suggests more sheep will die as a result of the shorter ban.

The government introduced other measures this year to try to improve sheep welfare on ships.

First, it will require temperature data to be recorded at two sheep pens per deck. However my group has shown this does not produce representative results.

Read more: Grattan on Friday: Live sheep exports tarnish Australia’s reputation and should be stopped

Second, sheep can be unloaded at no more than two ports. But our results suggest that it is not the number of ports that influenced sheep deaths, but whether sheep were kept in hot conditions on board at Doha.

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck a further blow to sheep welfare. The federal government requires that animal welfare audits are conducted at holding facilities in the destination countries. But quarantine requirements have made these checks difficult.

It’s also worth remembering that heat stress is not the only challenge sheep face en route to the Middle East. They usually have very little space and likely get stressed by ship motion.

A double whammy

The Australian live sheep export trade has declined from about 7 million per year in the late 1980s to about 1 million per year now.

Australia has recently been unable to meet the Middle East’s demand for sheep meat – a problem the industry blames partly on the export ban. Middle East buyers are increasingly turning to the horn of Africa, Europe and Asia.

Compounding this, COVID-19 looks set to force the cancellation of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia culminating in Eid al-Adha – a sheep-eating festival usually celebrated by millions of Muslims.

The double whammy will particularly hurt Western Australia, which in 2019 handled 97% of sheep leaving Australian ports.

If the festival is not cancelled, Australian sheep may be sent early to be stockpiled alive in the Middle East, to avoid the export ban. This would leave them exposed to the high temperatures the Australian government has sought to protect them from on ships.

Looking ahead

Some Western Australian sheep farmers have seen the writing on the wall. In the short term, some are turning to alternative livestock, such as prime lamb or beef cattle for domestic consumption or export as carcasses. This has the added benefit of keeping processing jobs in Australia.

In the long term, farmers would do well to look at the rising popularity of vegetarianism and veganism, and the threat to conventional meat production posed by “clean” meat grown in labs.

Some sheep grazing has already been replaced by cropping, and this is likely to increase in future.

There is no quick fix to the problems facing live sheep exports from Australia. The sooner we shift our economic reliance to more humane alternatives, the better.

Read more: Can meat exports be made humane? Here are three key strategies

 

 

https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-live-sheep-exports-has-just-been-lifted-heres-whats-changed-123998

 

The ban on live sheep exports was only ever intended to be temporary. The Australian government enacted the ban earlier this year to prevent sheep from being shipped to the Middle East from the beginning of June through to September 22 – the highest heat stress risk period.

During this time, sheep are adapted to the cooler temperatures of a southern Australian winter. And for this reason they find it difficult to cope with the sudden increase in temperature and humidity as the transport vessels undertake the two week journey to the Persian Gulf region

This ban affected any voyages where the vessel would travel through waters in the Arabian Sea north of latitude 11°N at any time – effectively stopping the Middle East sheep trade as the entrance to the Gulf of Aden is at 12°N.

Why are Australian sheep shipped to the Middle East?

It seems outwardly strange to ship live animals (and their feed) across an ocean just for them to be slaughtered for meat shortly after arrival.

But there is a demand for live Australian sheep in the Middle East, which means it’s economically viable for exporters to ship animals from southern Australia, particularly out of Fremantle, but also from ports including Portland and Adelaide.

Read more: Government suspends licence of biggest live sheep exporter

Western Australian farmers received an average price of A$117 for each exported sheep during 2018, so the price of each sheep at the other end must be substantively greater.

There are significant animal welfare challenges in successfully live exporting sheep. Part of the problem has been that the location of the greatest concern for animal welfare is the Australian public. But the Australian public have no consumer power, they’re not the ones buying the sheep.

So, the Australian government has been required to “push” animal welfare requirements down the industry supply pipeline, rather than having these requirements being “pulled” through by market demand.

What we do not know is how the economics would change and whether additional market lines would open up for boxed meat – rather than live sheep – if the live trade were to be stopped.

Why was the ban put in place for the first time in 2019?

The ban was one of the consequences for the live sheep trade after disturbing video footage was revealed in April 2018. The graphic video showed sheep suffering and dying due to apparent heat stress on voyages from Australia to the Middle East.

The government immediately commissioned a review into the conditions for the export of sheep to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer.

Read more: Government to announce increased penalties for live sheep trade

That review made a number of recommendations, which were then implemented by the government, including increases in space allowance for sheep on board and independent auditing of ship ventilation systems. Government-appointed observers were also included on voyages, and the notifiable mortality threshold reduced from 2% to 1% of animals during a voyage.

Since government-appointed observers were included on voyages the notifiable mortality threshold on voyages reduced from 2% to 1% of animals.Trevor Collens/AAP

A key recommendation was that the regulatory framework should change from minimising mortality from heat stress to, instead, safeguarding animal welfare.

The government then commissioned further reviews to determine how to implement this recommendation, including an independent technical reference group.

This report was released on September 20, and the government has stated it will be used along with other information to determine the regulations for how (or if) live sheep shipments occur during the northern summer of 2020.

Are the changes sufficient?

The live export industry argues they have succeeded in making substantial changes to how it operates since the original footage was revealed in 2018.

Whether these will be sufficient to prevent further revelations of heat stress incidents or other adverse animal welfare outcomes remains to be seen.

Read more: Australia’s history of live exports is more than two centuries old

Including independent observers on voyages to keep an eye on animal welfare should increase the transparency of what happens to sheep during live export shipments. Although, there has been criticism of the delay in reporting from this initiative.

The new arrangements in place since 2018 and the temporary ban from June to September are unlikely to satisfy animal welfare advocates who are against live exports. On the other hand, the live export industry argues the sector is important for Australian livelihoods, including supporting sheep farmers.

What’s more, the current coalition government has repeatedly stated its commitment to maintaining a live export industry. Interestingly, the 2019 federal election was the first time there was a clear policy difference on the issue between the major parties, with the ALP committed to a phase-out of the live export sheep trade.

It will be interesting to watch whether this policy difference will remain after the ALP’s review of its 2019 election policies.

Read more: The ALP promises to phase out live sheep export

But in terms of what more needs to be done, it’s likely impossible for policy-makers to satisfy all parties in the live export debate.

New overarching standards for the export of livestock from Australia are scheduled to be introduced soon, covering more than just heat stress risk.

However, those who are against the trade in live animals are unlikely to be persuaded to desist in their efforts. A repeated history of damaging incidents and revelations serves as a reminder of what may happen again in the future if the industry does not get to grips with its animal welfare responsibilities.