Dearest Yabby <"Yes, housewives are handy people, but that does not qualify them in livestock handling."

Oh, I am sorry...I didn't realise YOU had qualifications in livestock handling?

Oh, and I have seen you comment on a multitude of different subjects on OLO in the very few years I have contributed (no-where near as long as you of course - oh wise one)!

Gee, you must have led a very busy life if you were able to 'qualify' in all the subjects you wrote about?

Here's the thing Yabby, the Government has ALREADY banned the export of livestock to Indonesia, so do you honestly think they are going to turn around any time soon and say:
"Oops! We made a mistake...send all those cows over for more of that cruelty right now, coz the farmers are upset."

No, they won't.

So the only thing anyone can do is wait and see what is set up in Indonesia that will make it a happier death for the cows we send.

If we miss the boat, and Indonesia looks elsewhere for their beef, well good luck to them. We can always do the same with something they want to sell us!

Kerryanne, I just read your story, your right in what you say, are you a vegan.

Suzi yabby is a farmer.
His statements are truth.
Now please yes please try to understand me.
I am an Aussie male, life without women would not be worth living.
BUT we men lie , just as women do, to keep in favor.
We, country men, mostly think city women, do not know a great deal about our life, how food is produced.
The war, it was that, conducted here in OLO was fought by animal health activists, all women, vegans, and all the different shades of people defending meat eating and animals as food.
I fought in the front line with the realists.
I [a former free transporter at some times huge costs for W.I.R.E.S.]
A believer in zero needless cruelty to ANY ANIMAL suffered wounds.
Taunted at that time, I released my name as requested.
An opponent here,not connected with the fight, investigated me.
For some time[ terrorist like] My every move was monitored.
My job threatened, my mate ship with and the trust my members had in me, gave me a hard fought victory.
Why are we fighting this battle again? who of us is not truly full of RAGE about that film.
Who is not demanding an end to it.
An investigation in to who holds the blame.
Who does not see ending this trade just continues the savage ways of killing some one Else's cattle.
And why the blindness, the refusal to look, to see killing the cattle here is no option.
Doubling the meats costs, if we could do it, making it impossible for the poor to buy it.
IF this debate is about our right to eat meat say it.

Yes, Belly is right, Yabby is a sheep farmer - so should clearly understand the requirements for humane slaughter than he has demonstrated thus far. He is not the only farmer, nor does his job make him an expert on everything to do with live export. Yabby is, however, very very good at looking out for his own interests often at the expense of others. If you read his posts over the years at OLO he has demonstrated this narrow perspective very well indeed.

Other farmers have different opinions to the thick skinned crustacean.

"Well the other side of the coin is that each year we also send a batch of calves to market. Where they go we don’t know exactly, but we do know a majority of them would go to the abattoir — that’s what they’ve been bred for. Their slaughter is not something I like to mull over, but I do know that local abattoirs use stunning. For me, it’s enough to know the animal is out cold before being killed. Ultimately this is a business.

So watching Four Corners and seeing animals flinch at the hands of workers and moan in pain as they were subjected to a prolonged and barbaric slaughter process made us all feel nauseous. I doubt I was alone in being unable to watch some of the graphic footage aired.

In recent days, there’s been a lot of heated discussion between farmers, animal welfare groups and politicians — everyone has an opinion and in most cases they’re right. This is such a complex situation and there are no simple answers. But what I think an immediate ban does is make everyone at the table sit up and address this as a serious issue. Reports have suggested the Meat and Livestock Association has known about this animal cruelty since 2000. That’s just not acceptable in anyone’s language...."

Cont'd

Cont'd

.... If we only stopped live export just to the 12 abattoirs shown on Four Corners it isn’t a big enough penalty to instigate policy change. A sudden stop to the trade (and we must remember the Indonesians still have three months supply being fattened in their feedlots) lets the Indonesians know we’re insulted by their practices. This morning news bulletins suggested Indonesia is saying it will seek to import live cattle from places like New Zealand in the face of the Australian ban; the New Zealand agriculture minister has already come out and said they don’t export live cattle for slaughter and they’re not about to start.

Another angle to this controversy: last year Indonesia reduced Australian live cattle imports by some 30%. There is some discussion about Australian beef producers who are reliant on live export being vulnerable to changes in policy setting like this. If the Indonesians pulled the pin on us, the current debate would have a very different trajectory."

BTW does the generalisation about housewives include househusbands as well? Gawd help our kiddies if these people are as ignorant as Yabby claims.

:P

Many believe a good solution would be the opening of new abattoirs in the North West:

"The study was commissioned in 2009 by the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation to carry out a preliminary investigation into the potential for a beef processor servicing the northern rangelands.

It found an abattoir would be of great benefit to northern beef producers, but it would need a significant commitment from industry to be commercially viable.

"The restrictions on live exports brought about by the imposition of weight restrictions by Indonesian importers has highlighted the risks associated with the northern beef industry's reliance on a single market," Mr Redman said.

"This study was jointly funded by the State and Federal governments in response to the pastoral beef industry's strong desire to better understand its options in a changing global marketplace."

Mr Redman said the report sent a clear message about the changes needed to underpin a viable processing alternative in the north, and many of these changes were industry challenges.

"The report makes it clear that a northern abattoir could not survive on the left-overs from the live export trade," Mr Redman said.

"For this to work it will require a major adjustment from northern producers, so I have asked the WA Beef Council to further consider the study and seek wider industry comment."

The pre-feasibility report completes the planned first stage of the study. The next stage aims to build on the key findings by further investigating how the industry will need to change to support a viable northern abattoir."

http://www.getfarming.com.au/pages/farming/articles_view.php?fId=9200020101022084722

The article says that the scheme will require commitment from farmers. Ball is in the beef industry's court.