OPEN LETTER TO KEVIN


Breaking Rural News : LIVESTOCK


Rudd won't Ban live sheep exports
Australia
Monday, 19 February 2007

Federal Oppositition leader, Kevin Rudd, will not ban live exports if elected, despite mounting pressure on the industry in the wake of more allegations of animal cruelty.

The live sheep industry has come into focus again after Animals Australia aired footage filmed in Egypt recently, showing Australian sheep on-sold into the local market for the Halal religious festival, then tied to roof racks and thrown into car boots.

Mr Rudd says he does not abide animal cruelty, but he wouldn't be banning live exports.

"We had a beef property. I understand these things," Mr Rudd said.


Dame Edna might have hit the nail on the head when saying. I just cant imagine a PM named Kevin.

I have difficulty myself after contacting Rudds Office last year regarding the direct link of AWB to live Animal Exports.
You understand you say . Do you Really Mr Rudd?

GOLD COAST BULLETIN

LIVE EXPORT TRADE INQUIRY WOULD BE LIKE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER

THE RSPCA may have the answer for fed­eral Labor politicians struggling to galv­anise voters with the AWB bribery scandal.

The recent 60 Minutes program on Channel 9 revealing cruelty on Australian cattle in the Middle East hit a nerve.

Not that the RSPCA was surprised by the strong response from Australians outraged at endemic cruelty in the live export trade.

Many Australian voters may not give two hoots about $300 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein to sew up Australian wheat sales to Iraq. But it would be a different story if the AWB was ever linked to live exports.

The Gold Coast-based Halal Kind Meats is off to the backblocks of Queensland and West­ern Australia to look for Australian slaughter­ing opportunities. Dozens of Australian abatt­oirs have closed since the live export trade boomed in the 1990s. Kindness to animals is part of the Australian 'fair go' tradition.

Labor appears more concerned with the future of Australia's livestock trade overseas than banning the practice.

He wont be banning live exports. He won't be banning coal. He won't say what his Iraq policy is. He supports US bases in WA. Seems like a pretty crafty pollie. If Mr Rudd is elected I doubt very much if we will notice a lot of difference.

I detest live exports of animals. The only live exports should be of Australian politicians, who should be treated the same way, on arrival, as our live animals are being treated by Third World morons now.

Rudd? He has the substance and general attributes of a weak milk shake.

Howard? A weak and losing-it old man.

Bring on Peter Costello.

Live expotr well we should be doing better.
we have employment problems here so we should be looking at expot processed instead of live.

www.tapp.org.au

tapp, what do you propose? subsidising abbatoirs. the simple fact is that these markets won't pay the high costs of Australian processing(as opposed to home butchery) where the end product is 500% or more of the animals value.

Perhaps the animal rights groups should embark on an education program for these overseas customers as they would otherwise source their requirements elsewhere. Same net result. But of course cruelty to non-Australian animals is ok!

One of the reasons for live exports is that the people in the countries that we export live to dont have good access to refrigeration. So, TAPP, slaughtering here then exporting isnt going to work for these markets.