Yabby, the difference between you and Dickie is that you haven't got an original thought in your head (whereas Dickie clearly researches the material she posts). You simply quote the dogma of Wellards, Siba Ships and LiveCorp.

If these savages pay only for live animals and not dead ones, with 40,000+ being "collateral damage", someone is losing money hand over fist (and I note that the figure rose between 2005 and 2006, and 2006 and 2007, despite less animals being shipped).

But dream on ...

Nicky

*If these savages pay only for live animals and not dead ones*

If? Sheesh, I thought that was basic common sense lol. You clearly
lack it dear :)

Yup, 40'000 sheep at 100 bucks is 4 million $ Clearly it pays to
provide them with good conditions, so that 99% will arrive just
fine, which they do.

In your eyes, we are all savages, we do evil things like eat meat :)

Yes we know that Dickie frantically wears out her google bar.
That has little to do with having some basic common sense or
an understanding of life

If 40,000+ dead animals a year is having regard for animal welfare, clearly they're not very good at it, and getting worse, according to the stats. And as I pointed out, Dickie at least does her research, whereas if you had an original thought it would be lonely.

Here's another quaint practice of sheep farmers - shearing in the dead of winter, in snow country. I read in one of the farming journals that "research" has gone into putting stuff on newly shorn sheep to stop them getting hypothermia. It doesn't take Einstein to observe that it they are not shorn in mid winter, they are unlikely to get hypothermia. Issues to do with lambing, I'm told, and the solution would be to crutch them before lambing, and shear them before the summer. But that's how dumb - and mean/greedy - these people are. They would rather risk the deaths of the animals than spend a few bucks having them crutched.

I would not describe everyone who eats meat as a savage - that would rule out of my life almost all my friends, colleagues and family (not to mention my dogs). But they deplore many farming practices, and live exports, intensive farming and long distance transports in particular.

No comment to make on Animals Australia's "Lucy Speaks" radio campaign? How disappointing.

Nicky

Hi Folks!
I feel that we have to rationalize this whole issue by simply analysing the salient facts:

The whole farming industry is about making money by supplying foodstuffs, meats and various other commodity items to satisfy an ever expanding market!

The methods and practises utilized are ultimately affected and determined by the final return to the grower/producer!

What the most important issue is here is the disparity in the profit margins between the producers and the whole chain of "handlers" on the way to the final presentation to the consumer!

What we really need to do is to curb the gross profiteering of the large Supermarket chains, ( and let us NOT forget some of the greedy little Butcher shops!) who continually post massive profit increases whilst at the same time bleating about the farmers, producers and other associated product handlers!

The farmer/producer is usaully the one who gets the lowest take from the product, even though he has put the most into it, whilst all the other "handlers" up the chain take their "tax" off the top, in most cases doing very little in return!

If we can EVER reduce this imbalance ( and it would take a very courageous Government to bring about this sort of change!) the increased, and more realistic profitability for the producer, would or should provide the incentive and/or opportunity for the implementation of more humane methods of handling and processing the animals involved!

Once again we should put the blame where it belongs:..."GREED IS GOOD!

*If 40,000+ dead animals a year is having regard for animal welfare, clearly they're not very good at it,*

Clearly they are very good at it, for 4 million arrive just fine.
You have clearly never in your life been a livestock producer,
or you would know, that if you own cattle or sheep, sometimes they
die of all sorts of causes. Lack of experience is your problem
Nicky. Vets, qualified industry people, farmers etc agree with
me and they know something about the industry. You shuffle your
reports, you have no actual experience. Sorry, but being a
doting grandmotherly type like Dickie, shuffling papers, just
does not do it.

Have you ever heard of snow combs? Do you know what they are
for? Has it ever occured to you that farmers shear and crutch
sheep when labour is available? Clearly not

Cuphandle, welcome back! Breaking the monopoly of the "Big Two" would seem to be one of the major issues here, and the ACCC typically failed to address that.

Yabby, as always - not good enough. 40,000+ dead animals (and rising) is not good enough, in anyone's (anyone normal, that is) language. And those who arrive "just fine" - I take it you haven't looked at all the film footage of the blind, lame animals, in Middle Eastern feedlots with their wool falling out. But they don't matter because they were able to be dragged (or thrown) off the ships. And yet again (sigh!) it's about what happens to them when they get there. Have you failed yet again to pick up on the fact that these countries are on-selling Australian animals to other countries, or butchering them and on-selling the meat? Who is making the big bucks here? Not the terminally stupid Australian live export farmer. They just follow the MLA/LiveCorp mantra.

Farmers crutch when there is labour available? Yeah, right. Not in my part of the world, nor yours, I am reliably informed.

Nicky