Live Animal Exports Links

This week, Compassion in World Farming released new video from Indonesia, Egypt and Turkey which fully demonstrated that the Government's spin is nothing but outright lies. It eclipses even what we saw on Four Corners, and Turkey and Egypt are being targetted by the despicable exporters as 'key new destinations' for Australian cattle. In Indonesia, cattle are shown being unloaded from a ship by being winched by cranes, in threes, by their heads and dumped onto trucks. The savages have learned nothing and never will.

As well, the government knows that animals shipped from the southern ports in our winter, especially Portland, are at a massively higher risk of dying - so well-settled is it that special provision exists in the ASEL about it. But all that is is a 'tick and flick' from the exporters saying "it'll be right', and DAFF goes on to approve the shiploads of animal misery, over and over. The ASEL also provides that shade and shelter be provided at feedlots ('registered premises'), yet at many ports, it is not. What is DAFF doing to enforce compliance with this? Nothing. So the animals are exposed to driving wind and rain, or alternatively blazing heat in Darwin and WA, and nothing is done.

Voyages to Turkey on the old rustbuckets used in this trade have taken up to 41 days - almost 6 weeks - yet the mortality reports just keep the numbers under the radar. It is widely accepted that more animals are loaded than stated to ensure that the statistics are within what DAFF claims are 'acceptable' death rates. We cannot believe a single one of the mortality reports. Worse, investigations from 2009 and 2010 are 'yet to be completed', others state that insufficient records were kept to establish the causes of deaths. So where are the meaningful penalties? DAFF is so hopelessly compromised - so 'in bed' with the exporters - that they get a slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf.

SHAME ON AUSTRALIA!