Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has announced that the live cattle trade to Egypt is to resume.

How can we forget the appalling, brutal film footage of cattle having their leg tendons slashed and eyes stabbed at the infamous Bassetin slaughterhouse, and now resume providing cattle?

Animals Australia today criticised the failure of the Agriculture Minister to censure the live export industry whilst announcing the reopening of the trade to Egypt.

"Minister Burke has announced that that there will now be strict requirements in place to protect the welfare of Australian cattle in Egypt, but he pointedly ignores the culpability of the live export trade in previously sending over one million animals to be brutalized in Egypt", said Animals Australia's Executive Director Glenys Oogjes today.

The Minister claims that strict "requirements" will be in place.
Today's announcement states that Australian cattle will now be killed in accordance with international standards. The international standards Minister Burke refers to are the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) guidelines. These very basic standards do not require the stunning of animals prior to slaughter; are not ‘world's best practice' and are well below acceptable standards in Australia.

And we have so much irrefutable evidence of how well Egypt complies with agreements it has made, do we not? It should also be noted that following Animals Australia's last investigation, Australia is not sending sheep to Egypt, but it continues to send sheep to other Middle Eastern countries where extensive and routine brutal treatment of animals has been filmed and documented over many such investigations, as recently as the end of last year.

This is an appalling position for the Rudd government to take, and is a clear indication that Rudd said anything he thought would get him elected about gross animal abuse

Nicky

My perusal of the OIE website reveals very little on standards for animal welfare but much more on keeping livestock disease free - to assist the international livestock industry in maintaining healthy profits. Sadly they have failed miserably - both on the welfare and the health issues.

Australia has been exporting cattle since 1901. ABARE in 2005 stated that Australia "now exports more live cattle than any other country."

Following the government's NCCAW advisory group's meeting as far back as April 1994, which replaced an earlier Position Statement on the Live Sheep Export Trade, NCCAW stated:

"NCCAW** considers the live sheep trade with the Middle East should immediately be:

"halted on animal welfare grounds, and

"not be permitted to resume,

OR

"any new trade with any other country to commence, until all issues affecting the assured stability of the trade are resolved by establishment of appropriate inter-Governmental protocols between importing countries and Australia.

"** Note: The National Farmers' Federation does not endorse this position."

The "OR" implementation has been a total farce and naturally, the tyrannical cabal of meat lobbyists have clearly kept successive governments captive with a myriad of persuasive submissions.

Next Sunday, I shall be participating in the "Million Paws Walk" to be conducted in every state and in 70 different locations.

Last year saw over 40,000 participants and this year it is anticipated that the number will significantly increase.

I believe that nothing less than a concerted national "Live Export - Evil" walk day, (planned through a coalition of all state animal welfare organisations), will attract the attention of this government who has clearly breached the shallow pre-election promises on the issue of live exports.

The Rudd government's decision to resume trade with Egypt sends us all an unequivocal message, that the very least concern Kevin Rudd has is the welfare of these abused and tormented animals.

Truly a disgraceful decision, Nicky.

Nicky you are obviously ignorant to the facts.

The cattle in the footage which you are talking about are not Australian cattle. Australian cattle cant be led around on a lead they are too wild. I come from a cattle farm. Trust me I know! They were most likely Egyptian cattle. If you want to protest about how Egyptian cattle are killed that’s all well and good and I do support you in that sense but to try and torpedo the Australian cattle trade by DELIBRETLY lying and using footage which you know is not of Australian cattle being killed is low down grubbery act.

Now apologise to the good people who read OLO for wasting there time in with your baseless fabricated garbage.

EasyTimes

So in your feeble-mind it's OK to torture Egyptian animals's eh?

If the Egyptians torture their own animals, the Australian animals, no doubt can look forward to a double dose of cruelty.

Now apologise to the good people who read OLO for wasting there (sic) time in (sic) with your baseless fabricated garbage!

Buffoon!

Dickie “So in your feeble-mind it's OK to torture Egyptian animals's eh?” I never said I supported the harming of Egyptian animals I was just point out the Nicky was trying to deceive everybody hear by making false accusations. Its obvious Dickie that you suffer from a form of dyslexia if you had read my post properly I said that I supported her is she want to protest the way Egyptians treat their animals. Now stop making a Dick of yourself!

EasyTimes

The topic of this thread is the resumption of live exports to Egypt and the cruel manner in which Egyptians treat livestock.

You claim that:

"I said that I supported her is (sic) she want to protest the way Egyptians treat their animals."

Australian animals on Egyptian soil are owned by Egyptians. They endure the same abominable treatment as any other livestock in that country.

What has the breed of the animal in the footage to do with this issue? The cruelty portrayed was atrocious.

Australian animals in Egypt will also have their tendons slashed and their eyes stabbed and the Australian cattle industry know this and yet are to resume this dreadful trade.

Of course, our cattle industry and the Egyptians have one thing in common - cruelty to livestock. Since our cattle industry slash the flanks of cattle (without painkillers) to hack out the ovaries, why would they care what happens to their cattle exports?

Therefore, it appears that you are not supporting the torture of Egyptian animals but you, an Australian cattle man, endorse the abominable torture of Australian cattle.

Which is it EasyTimes?

Make up your mind and "stop making a dick of yourself."