The live export industry claims to have the highest standards in the world. Let's see how that stacks up.

Animals Angels frequently attends loadings in Fremantle. They state that there are routinely no government inspectors present at the wharf to deal with mismanagement, ill and injured animals, and cruelty. On Sunday 01.06.2008, they have to call an AQIS inspector. Likewise on 03.04.2008, 25.03.2008, and the 21.12.2007, when they actually have to call AQIS. AQIS arrives but does no inspections.

A review of the AQIS mortality reports that Animals Australia was able to obtain indicates that in almost all cases, the animals are not given the mandated periods in "registered premises" (feedlots) to accustom them to pelletized fodder. November 2006 on the "Maysora", 450 cattle died either on the ship or on arrival in Tzofar; these cattle were southern bred cattle loaded in contravention of the ASEL. Heat exhaustion, pneumonia, septicaemia. On a voyage from Tasmania in 2006, ill and injured sheep were loaded, the animals only had a matter of hours in the feedlot and there was not enough feed on the ship for the journey. 1,632 died.

The industry then would have us believe that it can influence the way animals are treated in importing countries. Please visit the link below (thanks, Dickie) to see how successful they are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1_BOAF7qvk

Further information attesting to this filmed by Animals Australia is at its Live Export Indefensible website. Now the Australian government (Rudd, the man who "cannot abide cruelty") is resuming the trade in cattle to Egypt.

these countries are signatories to (minimal) OIE (International Organization for Animal Health) animal welfare standards. You be the judge of their compliance. No MoU Australia has with any of these countries is legally enforceable, and they only provide for the animals to be offloaded from the ships anyway.

Please remember also that it is YOUR tax dollars that are helping to prop up this industry that is founded on the most appalling cruelty to farm animals that the human race is ever likely to be held to account for.

AQIS would be well aware, that there are a bunch of fanatical
vegans, doing what they can not just to end the trade, but to
end livestock farming, just like Nicky and Dickie.

Propaganda and "cause based marketing" is all part of their
little game. Shocking people, is their aim.

A more objective study was done by a rural journalist, who
actually eats meat. Here is a URL with the links to the
stories he wrote about his trip on a boat. Every boat has
an Australian vet on board.

http://www.wellardgroup.com.au/media_centre/media_releases.phtml

I have yet to see a report written by a bunch of vegans, that
is any way objective.

As soon as someone expresses a view, there is always someone else like Yabby who starts calling them names - fanatical vegans in this case.

I eat meat; I am not an animal lover; but, I am totally opposed to live animal exports. I don't even like to see animals in stock trucks, although I admit that there is no other practical way of transporting them these days. And, their journeys are relatively short.

There is, however, the ability to have stock killed in Australia by Halal butchers, and the frozen carcasses shipped overseas.

Religion is a poor excuse for uneccessary animal cruelty.

Hi all

Mr Right, none of us believes that the world will become vegetarian any time soon, and it is cruelty we oppose. Being vegan/vegetarian, to Yabby, automatically makes one a fanatic,as you may have noticed. As for journeys on stock trucks, please read the following:

January2008
"Animals’ Angels inspectors trail a routine sheep transport from Katanning saleyard in West Australia to a feedlot near Adelaide in South Australia. The sheep destined for slaughter were sourced perhaps from a farm, transported to the saleyard, sold there, then loaded and transported again; all without water and feed-a process of over 74 hours.

In WA the animals must not be transported for more than 30 hours without water. The journey time alone was 52 hours. There are also differences in WA law and South Australian law which allow different transport/water deprivation times. The WA driver was reluctant to assist two downer sheep and it appears clear it was these two who died along with some other sheep on the way. Luckily the Police arrived while the driver parked at the border for 6½ hours- the sheep standing in the hot transport crate without much air flow. The Police were excellent help and made sure the dying sheep was killed efficiently as possible. Only 1 driver at a time transports the animals, which is of great concern especially if there is an accident. During the WA border to Adelaide-SA period the SA driver was very ill and asked Animals’ Angels to get an ambulance then take care of the sheep and dogs while he went to hospital. This delay put extra pressure on the already stressed animals. Some died as a result of the WA-SA transportation. We will be taking our full investigation to the proper authorities".

http://www.animals-angels.de/index.php?sessionLang=de&pageID=627&synlink:docID=ir8960&synlink:linkID=6

Note the use of words "routine journey".

Conversely, Yabby would have us believe, by posting links to the websites of the live export agents, that the live export industry is regulated and monitored. They cannot even monitor transports, feedlots and saleyards IN Australia, never mind in importing countries.

Cheers
Nicky

I remind Nicky and Mr Right, that anyone is free to buy those sheep
and slaughter them in Australia, if they wish. Yes indeed, many
sheep are trucked across Australia for slaughter. Putting them
on a boat, where they have food and water, gain weight along the
way, is certainly the preferred option.

Loading of a ship is between AQIS and the companies involved.
If I was either of those, I would not go answering the questions
of every greenie vegan demonstrator who is campaigning against the
live trade.

The articles published in the Countryman were put on the Wellard
website, because farmers like myself requested that more
information about the trade was finally made public, after so
much rubbish has been broadcast on the internet, by those
with a clear agenda to shut the trade down.

Its time that those who oppose the trade, put up or shut up.
They are free to buy those sheep in Australia and slaughter them
here.

Hi again all

Mr Right, if you go to the link that Yabby so kindly provided, you will find it is Wellards, the live exporters.It features a number of articles by Cameron Morse, editor of Countryman newspaper. Mr Morse is also a sheep farmer, who got to do one voyage on a ship called the "Becrux", the only one of a couple of ships that is less than 25-30 years old, and not a converted oil tanker, car transporter, or container ship. Journos only ever get near the "Becrux".

That notwithstanding, on its maiden voyage in 2002, the "Becrux" left Australia a total of 63,413 sheep and 1,977 cattle from Victoria and WA destined for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.

880 cattle and 1,400 sheep died after the vessel met temperatures of 45 degrees+ and humidity in the Arabian Gulf. The remaining animals were rejected by Saudi officials and had to remain on board until another buyer was found to accept them. Many of the cattle were Bos Taurus breeds who should never been loaded, and heat exhaustion was the major cause of death of the cattle. Of the sheep,many were ill before they were even loaded. They die of starvation,disease and trauma.

You will note that Mr Morse's articles talk at length about the conditions on the "Becrux". Looking at the numbers of animals it carries and the numbers of crew, in particular qualified people, there is quite an imbalance. Mr Morse pays scant attention to what happened to the animals after they were offloaded from the "Becrux", merely a brief paragraph about PETA being untruthful about conditions in Jordan.

In the last 7.30 Report program featuring this trade, it was Jordan where the South American bull was beaten so hard over the head that he was on his knees trembling, before he was hacked to death with machetes, and it is Jordan where Animals Australia has succeeded in having slaughterhouse operations shut down because of appalling cruelty. That's before we even get to the other countries.

(To continue)

Cheers
Nicky